The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) has started crafting a bill calling for the amendment of a law, which allowed the Philippines to limit rice imports, according to a senior government official.
Undersecretary Maia Chiara Halmen Reina A. Valdez of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary said the Duterte administration is all set to amend Republic Act (RA) 8178, or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, to replace the quantitative restriction (QR) on rice with tariffs.
“It’s too late to renegotiate [for another extension]. We have to be forward-looking. We have to prepare for the lifting of the QR in June 2017,” Valdez told reporters on the sidelines of the National Food Authority’s (NFA) 44th anniversary celebration in Quezon City on Monday.
“We have to amend the law. The Neda is drafting a bill as mandated by the economic cluster,” Valdez added.
She said the economic cluster is also studying the possibility of amending Presidential Decree (PD) 4, or the National Grains Authority Act, which created the NFA, to revise the agency’s mandate.
The food agency attached to the Office of the President currently oversees and governs the importation of rice as part of the power vested on the agency by PD 4.
“We need to change the role of the NFA to conform to the lifting of the QR. The economic cluster is looking to retain its [NFA] regulatory and buffer stocking functions,” Valdez said.
According to the WTO General Council Ruling, the Philippines should subject rice imports to ordinary customs duties right after the QR-waiver extension has expired on June 30, 2017.
To do this, the Philippines needs to amend RA 8178 that retains the QR on rice, according to Agriculture Undersecretary Segfredo R. Serrano.
The QR, a nontariff barrier, has allowed Manila to limit the volume of imported rice that will enter the Philippine market.
Earlier, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia has announced that removal of the rice import quota by next year may be considered a “done deal,” as three members of the core economic cluster have already agreed on scrapping it.
However, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the Cabinet has not come up with a final decision on whether the country would ask for another extension of the QR on rice.
Piñol also said the QR must be extended for another two years to allow rice farmers to become competitive.
If the QR is eventually lifted and more rice imports would enter the rice market, Filipino farmers would be discouraged to plant the staple, as rice from neighboring countries are much cheaper, Piñol added.
The two Cabinet secretaries said President Duterte has yet to be informed and consulted about the removal of QR on rice.