Tell it to SunStar: Anti-poor

AS Congress approves House Bill 7735, or the Rice Tariffication Bill, on third and final hearing, we express our strong indignation as it will not address the root cause of continuous food insecurity, rice shortage and worsening poverty in the country. The bill is systematically, mechanically and logically favorable to domestic and international rice cartel operators. It will further exploit already exploited Filipino farmers and fishermen by forcing them to produce big bulk of rice, meat and fish to meet global dictum and for exportation, which are all within the mechanism of HB 7735.

House Bill 7735 intends to put safety nets for Filipino rice producers by imposing tariffs in lieu of quantitative restrictions on rice imports, including fish and meat. It was pursued in line with President Duterte’s order to the Congress last July 23 to immediately pass the measure, which targets to arrest inflation by at least 1 % thus, minimally affecting the reduction of commodity prices. Though the bill mandates the National Food Authority as the sole authority to undertake the direct importation of rice to ensure food security and to maintain sufficient national buffer stocks, there’s no big assurance for common Filipinos to have food security due to neo-liberal agreements signed by the past administration.

The Rice Tariffication Bill will remove tough government control in all agricultural commodities and will oblige our domestic market to join and spend unnecessary resources to global rice market and competition. It will be a burden to all Filipinos, especially the 60 million poorest of the poor families, because of the high possibility of price increase on all basic commodities like rice, fish, meat, canned goods, vegetables, bread, etc. due to bloating rice import and unstable status of the global market, which was further intensified and legalized by the Train Law. In a country where landlessness, joblessness and homelessness proliferate, the bill will not be of help to the majority of Filipinos. It will lead to farmer’s bankruptcy and displacement from their lands. It will put farmers at a disadvantage, especially that the government has minimal support to our rice producers.

To address poverty, food shortage and inflation, it is very timely to pass the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill for it has the capacity to uplift the lives of the poor majority Filipinos with rural aid like free water irrigation, free calamity subsidy, post-harvest facility, agrarian mechanization and boosting of local market. Land conversion must stop because it contributes to the unceasing decrease of tillable land, which affects the annual productivity rate of agricultur that shakes our food security.

Lastly, we want to reiterate that the right to safe, healthy and sustainable food system is a basic and universal human right, which the Philippine government must abide with. There is no need to pass the Rice Tariffication Bill, including the TRABAHO Bill, for it is not favorable to all common Filipinos, both in the public and private sector. We must act and pray that the Senate will hear and consider our intention.--Renmin Vizconde, executive director of Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes Inc.

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