Statement of Senator Cynthia A.Villar on RTL and NFA issues

We should urgently pass the Anti Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law to control the middlemen and traders from causing hardship to the farmers and the consumers. The NFA has not proven itself to be taking care of the welfare of the rice farmers and the consumers.

The Senate passed Senate Bill No. 2432 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, in December 2023, and has been certified as urgent by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. On March 20, 2024, the representatives of both Houses went to a pre-bicam conference for the bill. The Senate version states that there shall be severe sanctions on the nefarious acts of smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel of agricultural and fishery products as a self-preservation measure against the manipulative scheme of economic saboteurs, protect the livelihood of farmers, and plug leakages in tax and duty collection. The bill likewise protects the State from tax evaders and non-payors of duties, and ensures the well-being of our agricultural producers and welfare of the consumers, and the economy as a whole.

I remember I together with other Senators were buying rice from the NFA to give to calamity victims in Mindanao and we were told that they have no stock only to find out that they sold the rice stocks to traders. The National Food Authority (NFA) plays a vital role in ensuring food security and stability in the country by managing the supply and distribution of rice. It should focus on the acquisition, maintenance, and distribution of rice for buffer stocking sourced from local farmers and for calamity assistance. NFA has a yearly budget of P9 billion to do their local procurement.

Recently, there was a report on irregular sale of NFA Stocks to Selected Commercial Traders namely G4 Rice Mill Corp., and NBK San Pedro Ricemill. They pass this sold palay as deteriorating or aging stocks, and without undergoing a bidding process after purchasing the grains in palay form at Php 23.00 per kilo and sold as milled rice for Php 25.00 per kilo. The government was said to have incurred a Php 12,500,000.00 loss because of this.

On March 4, 2024, 139 NFA officials have been suspended pursuant to an Order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman.

There were several Senate Resolutions filed on this regard, among which are: SRN-968: Alleged Anomalous Sale of Rice Stock, by Senator JV Ejercito, SRN-947: National Food Authority (NFA) Resolution Directing the Appropriate Senate Committee to Conduct An Inquiry in Aid of Legislation on the Anomaly in the Sale of the Stocks of Rice by the National Food Authority (NFA) Filed on March 4, 2024 by myself and SRN-940: National Food Authority (NFA) Resolution Directing the Appropriate Senate Committee to Conduct An Inquiry, in Aid of Legislation, Into the Irregular Disposition and Sale of the National Food Authority (NFA) Repackaged Rice Stocks to Certain Rice Traders at Low Prices, by Senator Imee Marcos on March 4, 2024. All these bills were referred to the Blue Ribbon Committee which are yet to be heard.

The Rice Tariffication Law or RA No. 11203 provides that tariffs collected from imported rice shall go to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF). Collections in excess of the P10B fund go to the Rice Farmer Financial Assistance or RFFA (RA No. 11598), to rice farmers tilling 2 hectares and below and registered in the RSBSA. I have filed Senate Bill No. 2601 or "An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation and Trading of Rice, Lifting for the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice and for other purposes." The COCAFM Meeting of both houses has been set on May 14, 2024 at 10:00 AM in the Senate.