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Republic of the Philippines ¥
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REC EWE D”

Batasan Hills, Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

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House BILLNo._999 Wo inne’

Introduced by Honorable Representatives
ANTONIO L. TINIO (ACT Teachers Partylist) and
RENEE LOUISE M. CO (Kabataan Partylist)

AN ACT REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11203 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “RICE
TARIFFICATION LAW"

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Before the enactment of Republic Act No. 11203, or the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL), the
Philippine rice industry stood as a P386-billion agricultural backbone, comprising 3.8 million
rice farmers cultivating 4.7 million hectares of land. In 2018, it accounted for nearly one-fifth
of the total gross value added in the agricultural sector. However, with the full liberalization of
rice importation beginning in 2019, this critical sector has suffered immense and enduring
harm.

RA 11203 removed the National Food Authority's (NFA) power to regulate rice importation,
stabilize farm gate and retail prices, and directly procure palay at favorable prices to farmers.
In doing so, the government abdicated its responsibilty to protect the country's rice producers
and its capacity to regulate the food supply, allowing the private sector to dominate the rice
trade. The policy was rationalized on promises of cheaper retail ice, targeting a price of P25
per kilo — yet this promise was never fulfilled. Instead, what followed was a wave of bankruptcy,
displacement, and deepening landlessness among rice farmers.

From 2019 to 2021, the influx of cheap imported rice brought only a temporary and shallow
decline in retail prices while causing widespread, severe and lasting damage to domestic
production. Farm gate prices dropped to as low as P10 per kilo, while input costs continued to
soar. Farmers incurred average losses of P20,000 to P30,000 per hectare, with many driven
out of rice farming altogether. Between 2018 and 2023, the average net retum of rice farmers
fell by P6,268 per hectare. Meanwhile, the average palay production stagnated at 19 million
metric tons annually since 2017 — despite billions in government allocations supposedly meant
to enhance productivity.

The continuation of Rice Liberalization Law under the Marcos Jr. administration has only
exacerbated the crisis. Despite campaign rhetoric suggesting openness to suspending the
law, the administration expanded its implementation through successive executive orders.
Executive Order Nos. 10 and 50 extended the lowered rice tariffs initiated under the previous
administration, and EO No. 62 further slashed tariffs from 35% to 15% until 2028. These
measures facilitated record-breaking import volumes ~ 4.8 million metric tons in 2024 alone,

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with a projected 5.4 million metric tons in 2025 — cementing the Philippines’ infamous status
as the world’s top rice importer.

Contrary to economic expectation: deluge of imports has not resulted in sustainable retail
price reductions. Instead, monopolistic traders have captured increasing market shares and
profits. The number of rice importers has shrunk, while the top 10 now control 40% of the
trade. Commercial traders now control over half of the country's rice stocks, while farmers
receive only 15% of the final retail price — P6.50 out of P42.80 per kilo or compared to the 44%
(P18.90) captured by wholesalers.

The government's response has consisted mainly of superficial adjustments under RA 12078
which introduced mechanisms such as a food security emergency declaration and subsidized
“BBM rice” priced at P20 per kilo. However, these are band-aid solutions to persistent
problems. These measures lack a comprehensive strategy for strengthening local rice
production. Moreover, the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) — even
expanded to P30 billion — remains insufficient and misallocated, with half now under the
President's discretionary control and very little reaching farmers as direct support.

Despite an average of P22 billion annually from the General Appropriations Act and another
P22 billion from rice tariff collections, palay production has failed to improve. Meanwhile, the
government has incurred P24 billion in revenue losses from tariff reductions as of April 2025
or almost equivalent to the combined tariff losses from 2019 to 2023

This situation has resulted in widespread economic dislocation and landlessness among rice
farmers. The chronic depression of farm gate prices, lack of meaningful subsidies, and land
conversion pressures have led to a mass exodus from rice farming. Many smallholders, unable
to recover from repeated losses, are forced to lease or sell their land, abandon farming
altogether, or seek livelihoods elsewhere. The dispossession of rice farmers is not only a
socio-economic crisis but also a national food security emergency.

Peasant organizations have repeatedly likened RA 11203 to a man-made calamity — one that
has devastated rural communities far more tragically than natural disasters. The law has
functioned as a legislative tool for dismantling the domestic rice industry and crushing farmers
who feed the nation.

In view of the foregoing, the repeal of Republic Act No. 11203 is a matter of national urgency.
This bill seeks to restore the government's regulatory role in ensuring food security and to
reorient agricultural policy toward strengthening local production, protecting smallholder
farmers, and reciaiming our national food sovereignty

The immediate passage of this measure is eamestly sought

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FONIO L. TINIO RENI EM. CO
‘Act Teachers Partylist fan Partylist


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

‘TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BILL NO._599

Introduced by Honorable Representatives
ANTONIO L. TINIO (ACT Teachers Partylist) and
RENEE LOUISE M. CO (Kabataan Partylist)

AN ACT REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11203 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "RICE.
TARIFFICATION LAW"

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

Section 1. Republic Act No. 11203 (An Act Liberalizing the Importation, Exportation
and Trading of Rice, Lifting for the Purpose the Quantitative Import Restriction on Rice,
and for Other Purposes), otherwise known as the “Rice Tariffication Law," is hereby
repealed.

Section 2. All laws, jurisprudence, executive orders, executive issuances or letters of
instruction, or any part thereof that are inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions
of this Act are hereby deemed repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Section 3. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days afer its publication in the Official
Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,