By Giselle P. Jordan

FARMERS’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) on Sunday bewailed the government’s refusal to restore the 35-percent tariffs on imported rice.

“It is very unfortunate that the economic team prevailed in the non-restoration of the 35-percent rice tariff, thereby overstretching the pretense of an ‘emergency’ situation in the local rice industry,“ said Sinag executive director Jayson Cainglet.

On Sunday, the Philippines’ Official Gazette reported the issuance of Executive Order (EO) 105 maintaining the 15-percent tariff rate for imported rice until the yearend.

In his order, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cited the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) council’s decision on Nov. 4 to maintain the status quo tariff rate.

EO 105 repeals EO 62 — which in July modified import duties for several commodities, including rice, reducing rice tariffs to 15 percent from the previous 35 percent.

Flexible tariff system

However, EO 105 introduces a flexible tariff system for rice imports starting January 2026, in which duties may increase or decrease depending on international market conditions.

It entails that rice tariffs be increased by five percent for every five percent decrease in international rice prices, and to be decreased by five percent for every five percent increase.

It also creates an inter-agency group on rice tariff adjustments, composed of representatives from DEPDev, Departments of Agriculture, Trade and Industry, Finance, and Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs.

Temporary

But Cainglet argued that the 15-percent tariff was supposedly a temporary, emergency measure imposed when global rice prices surged to $680 per metric ton (MT).

There is no longer an emergency, Cainglet said, since prices have dropped by almost 50 percent to $330/MT.

The current landed cost of imported rice is P25-P26 per kilogram (kg), and even with 35-percent tariffs, the commodity would remain affordable, Cainglet explained.

“[DEPDev] projects a false narrative that the rice sector remains in crisis, when in truth, the emergency has long passed,“ Cainglet pointed out, adding that Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan’s insistence on maintaining the status quo rate has become “a major embarrassment“ for the Marcos administration.

“His position portrays President Marcos as indifferent to the suffering of farmers and insensitive to the needs of the local agriculture sector — an image that is both unfair to the president and damaging to national interest,“ Cainglet said.

The longer the reduced tariffs remain in effect, the greater the damage would be for local rice farmers, who are already struggling with depressed palay (unhusked rice) farmgate prices, he stressed.

“The immediate restoration of the 35-percent rice tariff will send a strong signal that the Philippines stands with its farmers, upholds local agriculture and the livelihood of the rural sector, and is no longer hiding behind an outdated ’emergency’ excuse,“ said Cainglet.

Meanwhile, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) also denounced EO 105, saying it is another neoliberal policy that abandons local rice farmers.

KMP chairman Danilo Ramos said the flexible tariff system is “a recycled experiment meant to hide the failure of [Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law],“ which was implemented in 2019.

“The government claims that flexible tariffs are the solution, but in reality, it is just an excuse to pin the country into import dependency,“ Ramos said, pointing out that farmers suffer more losses with every tariff reduction.

Since RTL took effect, the country’s annual rice imports have exceeded 3 million MT, while palay prices remained depressed, KMP said, noting that as production costs rise, farmers are forced to sell at a loss, while traders and importers profit from cheap imported rice.

Solution

The solution is not flexible tariffs, but a total repeal of RTL and restoring the National Food Authority’s power to buy and regulate palay, the KMP said.

The KMP, the Amihan Peasant Women, and Bantay Bigas are gathering signatures to push for the repeal of RTL and the passage of the Rice Industry Development Act to rebuild local rice self-sufficiency.

Published Date: November 10, 2025