MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte is ready to sign the Rice Tariffication Bill as his office received a copy of the Congress-approved measure recently, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
“I suppose it will be signed any time. It will be signed soon enough,” Panelo told a press briefing in Malacañang. “Let’s see. If it’s there, it will be signed. Ang daming trabaho ni Presidente.”
Panelo also allayed fears that the signing of the measure will have an adverse effect on the buyers of NFA (National Food Authority) rice.
“’Pag ni-liberalize, magkakaroon ng competition in the market, so magpapababaan sila ng presyo, otherwise hindi sila mabibili, ’di ba? Law of supply and demand iyan e,” said the Palace official.
Duterte certified the Rice Tariffication Bill as urgent in a letter addressed to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in October.
The measure was meant to “address the urgent need to improve availability of rice in the country, prevent artificial rice shortages, reduce the prices of rice in the market, and curtail the prevalence of corruption and cartel domination in the rice industry,” the President said.
The House of Representatives passed the bill on third and final reading on Aug. 14 while the Senate approved its version on Nov. 14. The bicameral conference committee approved the measure on Nov. 22.
The bill intends to replace import restrictions on rice with tariffs, lifting the quantitative restrictions on rice imports, and mandates the NFA to buy its buffer stock from farmers./PN
