By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu.

MANILA, Philippines — Former Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos has assured farmers that he will push for Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) amendments should he gain a Senate seat in the 2025 midterm elections.

Abalos, responding to calls for him to meet farmworkers in Nueva Ecija, said in a meeting with stakeholders that the National Food Authority (NFA) should be empowered again to buy rice grains from local farmers — and then sell it at a low price.

“On this day, don’t worry. I know that you came from far-flung areas, but today, groups from the government and the farmers are united. From my end, what I can do to help — since that is my advocacy if I am fortunate enough to land a Senate seat — I will continue this fight in the Senate,” Abalos said in Filipino.

“Rice tariffication needs to be amended. The NFA should have the authority to purchase palay from farmers and sell it to the public regularly. Food sustainability and security can only be achieved if we support our farmers,” Abalos said.

According to Abalos, aside from helping farmers, it is also important for the country to have food security, which will happen if the government listens to the concerns from people in the agriculture sector.“It’s important for a country to have food, and those who give us food are farmers. That’s why it is only right for us to listen to the problems and to find ways to solve them,” he added.

Abalos’ meeting with the farmers came after lawyer and former Magsasaka party-list lawmaker Argel Cabatbat extended an invite to come to Nueva Ecija, as the former Department of the Interior and Local Government head made public his goal of amending Republic Act No. 11203 or RTL.

According to Cabatbat, it is good that Abalos wants to amend the RTL, but it will be better if he meets farmers to have first-hand information about the issue.

“Secretary Abalos’ proposal to amend the Rice Tariffication Law is good. But it will be more meaningful if he hears the sentiments and stories of people from the farmlands.  That’s why we are inviting him to go down to Guimba so that we can listen to the grievances of farmers and farm workers,” he said.

In the 19th Congress, the House approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB)  No. 10381 which seeks amendments to Republic Act No. 11203 or RTL, to bring back some of NFA’s functions.

If signed into law, NFA will have the “authority to oversee and ensure compliance with all pertinent standards and regulations, leveraging its established expertise and nationwide network to uphold the national interest, in rice buffer stocking and food security.”

The proposal also seeks to give the agriculture secretary the power to declare a food security emergency due to the following reasons:

• shortage in the supply of rice
• sustained increase in the price of rice
• extraordinary increase in the price of rice

When the Department of Agriculture (DA) declares a food security emergency, the NFA would be allowed to intervene and sell rice directly by purchasing grains from local farmers, with importation as a last resort.

Currently, the NFA has to wait for weeks before a food security emergency is declared because other agencies in the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) have to agree first before giving the Department of Agriculture the go signal.

Published Date: April 9, 2025