The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) on Wednesday criticized Sen. Cynthia Villar for proposing to stop issuing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) to rice importers during harvest season, warning that the move could prompt complaints from exporters.

In a statement, the FFF told Villar, who heads the Senate Committee on Agriculture and is the principal sponsor of Republic Act 11203, or the “Rice Tarrification Law” (RTL), that the legislation allowed the withholding of SPSICs only if there is a risk that imported rice will infest local crops or harm consumers, and any SPS measure must be “scientifically based” and applied “uniformly” on imports.

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