Diokno Says That Rice Tariffication Law Review Not Priority of Marcos Admin

Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno has mentioned that since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. chose not to mention the review of the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) it means that this is “not a priority” of the current administration.

Marcos also took up the position of heading the Department of Agriculture (DA) and did not mention the review of the RTL during his speech last Monday. Marcos had earlier stated that he wanted an amendment to the law to stop the country’s reliance on rice imports and to make this more “local farmer-friendly”.

Diokno has said that he sees no necessity in changing a “good law” and that the RTL benefits “almost all Filipinos”.

“The mere fact that it was not mentioned in the speech does not mean that it will remain. So siguro revisiting the Rice Tariffication Law is not priority of this government,” said Diokno.

“I think if you are running the government, you must always think of what’s the greatest good for the greatest number so siguro may effect siya sa some farmers, specifically rice farmers but meron din namang ibinibigay sa kanila doon e,” Diokno adds.

“It was part of the revenues from the rice tariffication goes back to the farmer so parang win-win din yun e. It’s not actually a loss to the farmers but it is a gain for almost all Filipinos,” he says.

Rice industry groups have stated that the RTL led to a decrease in the income of farmers as farmgate prices dropped to as low as ₱7 per kg in some areas.

Source: Business Mirror