Mas lalo pa dapat tutukan ng pamahalaan ang produksyon ng bigas sa bansa kasunod ng naitalang 3.8% inflation rate sa buwan ng Abril.
Punto ni Ways and Means Committee Chair Joey Salceda, lahat ng major commodities ay nag-single digit inflation na, maliban sa bigas.
At bagamat bumaba ang rice inflation, mabigat pa rin aniya ito lalo na sa mga mahihirap.
Kaya naman welcome para kay Salceda ang pagsertipika ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa amyenda ng Rice Tariffication Law bilang ‘urgent’.
Matutugunan kasi aniya nito ng tama ang pamamahala sa P29 billion tariff revenues ng rice imports para matulungan ang mga magsasaka.
“The Rice Tariffication Law amendments, certified as urgent by President Marcos will improve the way we manage the massive P29 billion tariff revenues from rice imports so that it helps local farmers and consumers in a more direct way,” ani Salceda.
Sabi pa ni Salceda na bagamat naitala ang pinakamalaking ani ng bigas sa ilalim ng Marcos Jr. administration, ay may banta naman ng structural global shift sa bigas. Kaya mahalagang maisakatuparan ang reporma sa batas.
“The House will act expeditiously. President Marcos has recorded the largest ever palay harvests in the country’s history – but he faces a structural global shift in rice trade that requires serious commitment to supporting the domestic rice sector. We need this reform,” sabi pa ni Salceda.
“Definitely, we need to amend the allocations for RCEF, from mechanization to increased yield and more climate-resilient varieties. We also need to provide the NFA enough space to protect the poorest of the poor. We also need to encourage investments in the rice value chain, something that was inadvertently made harder by the RTL,” dagdag pa niya. | ulat ni Kathleen Jean Forbes
