6 in 10 Pinoys back repeal of law deregulating rice sector–survey

SIX out of 10 Filipinos support the repeal of Republic Act (RA) 11203 or the rice trade liberalization (RTL) law, which deregulated the local rice industry, according to a survey conducted by PUBLICUS.

In a statement, PUBLICUS Asia Inc. said 63 percent of the 1,500 respondents of its PAHAYAG 2022 Second Quarter Survey conducted last June 16 to 22 said they “approve or strongly approve” of the repeal of RA 11203.

PUBLICUS said 8 percent of the respondents “disapprove or strongly disapprove” of amending RA 11203 while 29 percent were “neutral” about it.

It said the respondents were registered Filipino voters that were randomly sampled by PureSpectrum, a United States-based panel marketplace with multinational presence, from its national panel of more than 200,000 Filipinos.

The sample-wide margin of error is +/- 3 percent, according to the survey firm.

Marcos on RTL law

AURELI SINSUAT, PUBLICUS Executive

Director, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not taken a “firm” stance on the proposal of certain quarters to repeal the RTL law.

One of the campaign promises of Marcos was the amendment of the RTL Law to reinstate the regulatory and price stabilization functions of state-run National Food Authority (NFA). (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/12/06/bbmwants-nfa-back-to-ensureprice-stability/)

“While President Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture [DA] to conduct a reassessment of the [rice trade liberalization] law, with particular emphasis on the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or RCEF for farmers, he has not made any public statement clearly supporting repeal of the law since taking office,” Sinsuat said.

“However, it is likely that President BBM will face significant pressure from farmers’ groups and their allies to adopt a more protectionist stance on agriculture in the coming months.”

Calls for the repeal of RTL law gained traction this year after former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the commercial functions of the NFA should be reinstated. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2022/05/26/farmersurge-president-elect-bbm-to-prioritize-review-of-rtl-law/)

Rice prices

DAVID BARUA YAP JR., Chief Data Scientist of PUBLICUS, warned that repealing the RTL law and “reintroducing” rice import restrictions anew “would result in higher rice prices.”

Yap said the RTL law paved the way for the entry of “cheaper” foreign rice.

“Repealing the RTL and reintroducing quantitative import restrictions would significantly reduce the supply of cheaper foreign rice on the market, and the overall available supply of rice in general,” he said.

“In essence, repealing the RTL in favor of a return to quantitative import restrictions would likely result in higher rice prices for consumers in the short term, or during the time when domestic supply is ramping up to compensate for the reduction in imports.”

Yap said the DA should be “prudent” in its reassessment of the RTL law by taking into account the possible inflationary consequences of a repeal of the landmark law.

It was revealed recently that Marcos asked current agriculture officials to submit to him an assessment of the RTL law’s implementation. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/07/05/marcos-as-agriculture-chief-food-supplyprices-first-priority/)

“In a recent report, the Philippine Statistics Authority noted that the relatively high 6.1 percent inflation rate recorded in June 2022 was driven by rising food prices,” Yap said.

“Repealing the RTL would exert additional inflationary pressure on rice, the primary food staple of Filipino families. This is something the Department of Agriculture should consider during its reassessment of the law.”