News Details

DA chief presses amendment of RTL, warns grim future for rice farming

NPO

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July 31, 2025

MANILA, Philippines – Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has sounded the alarm over the future of the country’s rice sector, warning that the industry may collapse unless the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) is amended to give the government stronger control over importation and retail.

“I really feel that the RTL, as it is written today, will kill our rice industry. If it is not addressed, if it is not amended, it will kill the rice industry,” Tiu Laurel said. “Imported rice is creating a problem for local rice producers. It is eating market share, and that could force even local millers to close shop and just go into rice importation. What is important to me is the stability of the local market.”

He suggested adopting the DA’s recent approach to sugar and onion imports—streamlined but controlled—as a model for rice. Under his proposal, imports would be limited to the supply gap plus two to three months of buffer stock, estimated at 750,000 to 1 million metric tons annually.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s House Bill No. 1, or the RICE Act, seeks to address these concerns. The measure aims to restore the National Food Authority’s (NFA) regulatory powers, authorize the DA to restrict imports during harvest seasons, and allow the government to set a floor price for palay.

Tiu Laurel said the DA is working closely with Congress to refine the bill to ensure the sustainability of local production. He plans to meet with Senate President Francis Escudero and the agriculture committee heads in both chambers to rally support for the amendments.

The RTL, enacted in 2019, liberalized rice imports, stripped the NFA of its market-regulating authority, and limited its role to maintaining a local palay buffer stock. While tariffs from imports are funneled into the ₱30-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF)—recently extended until 2031—critics argue that the law left local farmers vulnerable to price swings and import surges.

Tiu Laurel emphasized that without decisive changes, “the RTL will erode our capacity to produce rice locally and will put the country’s food security at risk.”