Rice farmers urge presidential veto of Senate Bill 1998

WE, the small rice farmers, continuously oppose without let-up, Senate Bill 1998, “An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation and Trading of Rice, Lifting the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice and for Other Purposes” due to its provisions that are detrimental to Philippine agriculture. We urge President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to veto this bill because of its anti-farmer and anti-consumer provisions.

The proposed law which is authored by Sen. Cynthia Villar and 13 other senators, will reduce the vital function of the government as buyer of our rice produce, especially during the harvest season when the farmgate price is low. Low-priced government rice will disappear in the market since the stabilization function of the food agency, the National Food Authority, will be scrapped due to SB 1998. Access to low-priced government rice is important to us rice farmers since we depend on it during lean months. The influx of imported rice due to open importation will drastically affect local rice production in the country. Surely, we will not be able to compete with the cheaper imported rice due to their lower cost production and subsidy from their governments.