Senator Manny Pacquiao on Sunday said the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) should be amended as this “has not completely been favorable to the country’s five million farmers.”
Despite the government’s commitment that the farmers would be protected through the P10-Billion-a-year Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) or Rice Fund, Pacquaio said this has become insufficient.
Pacquaio, one of the co-authors of Republic Act 11203, said that while the intention of the law was good as it provided Filipino consumers cheap and stable rice supply, it has caused serious economic dislocation to local rice farmers because they have nobody to sell their produce.
He said members of Congress can craft, amend and repeal laws as part of their legislative function.
Pacquiao said he took the opportunity to conduct his own “Zoom consultation” with various farmer organizations during the recess after an apparent inaction by the Senate committee on agriculture on his Senate Resolution 554, which sought an inquiry into the implementation of the RTL particularly the utilization of the Rice Fund.
Pacquiao said that although the consultation validated claims that the RTL made life more miserable for those who actually toil the soil while making rice traders and importers even richer, it has also provided the proper perspective on why it only needs to be amended and not repealed as proposed by hardline anti-RTL farmers.
“Nakakalungkot lang na malaman na itong mga taong nagpapakain sa atin ay mga walang makain,” Pacquaio said.
Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)
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