00:00The National Food Authority, or NFA, has had the expertise, experience, and technical knowledge
00:04when it used to preside over the importation of rice and regulation of its prices in the
00:09best interest of government.
00:11A status lawmakers of the House wants reinstated in a more controlled or limited arrangement
00:16to ultimately bring the prices of rice substantially lower than current costs.
00:22And as our Melanis Moris reports, the House is supremely confident of passing it in third
00:26and final reading as it convinces its Senate counterparts on the right thing to do.
00:34The House Committee on Agriculture and Food assured today the bill amending the rice tariffication
00:39law has sufficient safeguards in place in restoring the power of the National Food Authority
00:44to stabilize rice prices and regulate the supply of the staple food.
00:49From the committee level, the RTL amendment bill has reached the House plenary for debates,
00:53and next week, before the synodia adjournment, the House is expected to pass it on third
00:58and final reading.
00:59In a press conference, Agriculture Committee Chair Mark Inverga highlighted how this measure
01:05was specifically crafted for the welfare of our countrymen.
01:08He also had this to say on the concerns of some senators against the bill.
01:12NFA, as it was before, before they had the full monopoly in terms of rice imports, they
01:21had a monopoly in terms of regulation.
01:25That's why I would like to ensure our counterparts in the Senate that this is a different scenario.
01:30In fact, they will have a very limited presence here in case of emergency situations, and
01:36importation is merely a last resort here.
01:40It's true that there are many issues, but again, we know NFA has the technical know-how,
01:48the expertise.
01:49Another official from the House of Representatives also addressed the concerns raised on the
01:54proposal for House Assistant Majority Leader Paulo Ortega.
01:58I know there are many issues, that's why we will go through the debates and the process
02:04so that the questions will be answered, not only by the legislators, but also by the general
02:10public.
02:11And maybe for the Senate, and of course also for the Congress, that's why we have oversight
02:16so that we can see if the changes that we will introduce in this law will be implemented
02:22correctly.
02:23Earlier, House Speaker Martin Romualdez himself emphasized the importance of amending the
02:29Rice Tarification Law.
02:31He said its impact is a crucial step towards ensuring food security and economic stability
02:36for all.
02:37Meanwhile, in a statement, the Department of Agriculture once again expressed support
02:41for the approval of the RTL Amendment Bill, mentioning that once passed, it would benefit
02:46not only the consumers, but also producers.
02:50We don't want these measures because of the price cap.
02:53It's good in the beginning, but in the long term, it will have a negative economic impact
02:58on our country.
03:00So if there will be an opportunity for the NFA to intervene, the effect will be fast.
03:08At first, it was able to provide P27, but we're not expecting that kind of price, but we're
03:15expecting a relatively lower price of the NFA than the prevailing market price.
