nernese
Ke.

reg SHIVER,

DATE:
TIME;

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 4836

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Rice is the staple food of the Filipinos. ‘The demand for rice is such that despite being
an agricultural country, the Philippines still has to import, on average, an additional one
million metric tons of rice per year to satisfy local consumption. As a result, the country is
the world's biggest rice importer, bringing in the staple food from Asian neighbors such as

Thailand and Vietnam.

Ivis therefore no surprise that with an average per capital rice consumption of 123 kg

per person annually, Filipinos spend more on rice than any other food, according to the
Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS). Given how important this food staple is to our
countrymen, it is ironic that, based on data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute

(FNRD, each Filipino wastes an average of three tablespoons or nine grams of rice da

While at first glance this may seem minuscule, with a population of one hundred million
people, nine grams of rice wasted per day amounts to 900,000 kilos thrown away per day, ot

328 million kilos a year. This is a staggering figure, as this amount of wasted rive is equal to

the annual rice consumption of roughly 2.6 million Filipinos.

In a country where millions do not eat thr \d millions more are

quare meals a day

undernourished, this kind of wastage cannot be countenanced.

This bill seeks to penalize restaurants, hotels, inns, canteens, steakhouses, and eateries
that insist on serving and charging for a full cup of rice even when customers order less than

one cup of rice. It also makes the serving of one-half cup as the mandatory quantity for


additional orders of rice in food establishments offering "unlimited rice" for meals bought

measure will con: establis

iderably reduce rice wastage by these busines

therein. Thi

as it will allow their customers to order only the amount of rice they can consume.

ed such measures as trivial and unneces

ome have dismis sary; we submit that there
is nothing trivial about food gone to waste, and that in a country still plagued by want, we

need to take steps to ensure that precious resources such as rice are not taken for granted

ly requested.

Thus, the ea

ly passage of this bill is earne

Representative, Third District of Laguna


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4336

House Bill No.

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

s, INNS, CANTEENS,

IKE FROM REFUSING TO SERVE

ORDE R OF RIC E FROM AC! US TOMER IF IT BE LESS THAN ONE (1) CUP, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

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

SE
2016."

‘TION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Anti-Rice Wastage Act of

SECTION 2. Prescribed Acts. ~ It is hereby declared mandatory for all restaurants,

hotels, inns, canteens, steakhous teries and similar food establishments serving rice to

include in their menu of dishes one-half (1/2) cup of rice and its corresponding price.

aurants, hotels, inns, canteens, steakhouses, and similar food

aterie:

establishments offering unlimited rice, which entails no cost for additional rice servings, are

hereby mandated to serve additional orders of rice in one-half cup quantities.

TION 3. Prohibited Act. ~ It is hereby declared unlawful for restaurants, hotels,

inns, canteens, steakhouses, eateries and similar food establishments to refuse to serve order

ice from a customer if it be less than one (1) cup.
SECTION 4. Penal Provisions. ~ Any act or omission by a restaurant, hotel, inn,
canteen, steakhouse, eatery or similar food establishment in violation of the foregoing

provisions of this Act shall be meted the following penalties:


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a) a fine of Twenty Thousand Pesos (Php 20,000.00) for the first offense;
b) a fine of Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php 50,000.00) for the second offense; and

c) a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php100,000,00) for the third and
subsequent offenses.

SECTION 5. /mplementing Rules and Regulations. — The Department of ‘Trade and

Industry (DTI) shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement this Act.

SEC

‘TION 6. Repealing Clause, — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations
which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified

accordingly.

SECTION 7. Effectivity. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved,