MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Majority Leader and ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo said that only the Department of Agriculture (DA) should be allowed to import rice because the price of imported grain has not gone down.
“The President has reduced the tariff on imported rice but the market price is still at P50 to P60 per kilo,” he said. “Don’t tell me the lowering of tariff had no effect. Where did the savings from lower tariffs go? The people should benefit,” he added.
Tulfo said officials should take action as it appeared that only the importers are benefitting from the lower tariff.
He said that he and fellow ACT-CIS Reps. Edvic Yap and Jocelyn Tulfo, Benguet Rep. Eric Yap, and Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Ralph Tulfo plan to file a bill which will empower the DA to import rice from other countries.
Under the proposal, the rice imported by the DA from other countries should be sold in the Philippines at the same price it was purchased.
“Because the DA is not allowed to sell rice, we will include in the measure a proposal to allow rice retailers to apply for a license to operate Kadiwa centers. Now, when the DA can already import regularly, then businessmen already have a competitor…so they will be forced to lower their prices,” Tulfo said.
The proposed bill will also ban the DA from issuing import permits during the harvest season to protect local farmers.
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