SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar, chairwoman of the Senate agriculture and food committee, lamented Thursday the misconception intentionally circulated to discredit the rice tariffication bill and to block the passage of the needed support measures for local rice farmers.
Villar issued the statement after meeting at the Senate building her bicameral conference committee counterpart from the House of Representatives.
Objective of the meeting was to iron out the differing provisions of their Rice Tariffication bills.
She expected the final form of the bill to be fleshed out in the coming days for submission by each panels to their respective legislative chambers for ratification. If ratified, an enrolled bill will be transmitted to President Duterte for enactment into law or veto.
“It is unfortunate that some groups are being made to believe that the rice tariffication bill which we have scrutinized and carefully studied in the Senate, will not be beneficial to farmers. On the contrary, it includes a package of support programs that will help farmers adjust to competition under a tariffied regime,” Villar said.
Villar is the principal sponsor of Senate Bill 1998 or the bill which replaces the quantitative import restrictions on rice with tariffs, lifting the quantitative restrictions on rice, and creating the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or Rice Fund.
The Senate passed the bill on third reading last week and the bicameral conference committee was held on yesterday. The bill has been certified as urgent by President Duterte.
“Remember, the need to impose tariff is an obligation under the World Treaty Organization (WTO) agreement, which the country entered into years back. It will be more difficult to deal with trade sanctions if we don’t abide by the agreement,” Villar pointed out.
“We will be doing our farmers a great disservice if we let them face the challenges of a tariffied system without support mechanisms in place,” she added. (Mario Casayuran)
