By: Kathleen de Villa – Reporter

MANILA, Philippines — A peasant group on Tuesday slammed the latest proposed scheme of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to temporarily halt rice importation and revert to higher tariffs, calling it another sham “pro-farmer” policy.

According to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the DA’s interim proposal to address the slump in farmgate palay prices is still insufficient, as it consists of “mere reactive measures.”

“The chronic crisis in the rice industry is rooted in import liberalization and the rice liberalization law, which should be repealed without delay. The government must stop feeding us illusions of ‘pro-farmer’ policies,” KMP national chair Danilo Ramos said in a statement.

Ramos made the statement after Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez said on Monday that the suggestion to suspend rice imports and raise tariffs would be among the “urgent” matters to be discussed with President Marcos during his state visit this week.

The group insisted on the need for “concrete action” for the industry, including the repeal of Republic Act No. 11203, which liberalized rice importation under former President Rodrigo Duterte, and Executive Order 62, which President Marcos issued last year to lower import duties to 15 percent from 35 percent.

KMP also called on the government to boost local rice production through massive public funding in the form of subsidies and compensation, as well as nationwide implementation of:

• 100-percent irrigation development
• free irrigation
• a guaranteed P20-per-kilo farmgate price for palay
• provision of P25,000 per hectare as a production subsidy for farmers

“What our farmers truly need is not temporary protection, but a complete overhaul of the policies that have long sabotaged local agriculture,” Ramos stressed.

Published Date: August 5, 2025