Panelo lauds Duterte’s political will

President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief legal counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo on Tuesday praised the former’s political will that, he said, made the economy stronger for Filipinos.

In his daily online program “Counterpoint,” Panelo cited Mr. Duterte’s signing of the Rice Tariffication Law being sought after by many for decades.

“The Rice Tariffication bill has been hanging for 30 years. Many administrations have passed but only through the President’s will that it has become a law,” he said.

He said over 100 million Filipinos are benefiting from the law that opened the country to imported rice, thereby lowering its retail price.

Rice Tariffication Law cited as example of Chief Executive’s decisiveness in passing a measure long overdue for decades.

The former Palace mouthpiece said the government remains committed to help rice farmers by allotting P10 billion annually through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF).

The RCEF was created to improve the rice farmers’ competitiveness and income amidst the liberalization of the Philippine rice trade policy that lifted quantitative restrictions on rice imports and replaced it with tariffs.

Panelo added that the country would have suffered more due to higher inflation in March if not for the Rice Tariffication Law.

He also said the government is able to collect higher tariffs from imported rice that are being used in the country’s pandemic response.

“Since it has been effective, the Bureau of Customs has collected P31.9 billion through the rice import tariffs,” he added.