Ga RESERS
Ja oN

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

nouse BiLL No, 1173 _

Introduced by Honorable Bryan B, Revilla

AN ACT
PROVIDING DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO FILIPINO RICE
FARMERS, ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE PANTAWID
MAGSASAKANG PILIPINO PROGRAM, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR,
AND OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines as an agricultural country, rice farming is considered as part of our cultural
heritage. However, with the sudden influx of imported rice in the market, there had been a steep

decline of our youth engaging in rice farming, with average age of rice farmers at 58 years old.

The agriculture industry employs 9.7 million Filipinos, among them are rice farmers, who
earns a measly amount of 264.42 pesos per day. With the easing of quantitative restriction on rice
imports, the farm gate price of palay went down to as low as 12 pesos in 2020, making rice farming
less viable source of income to our rice farmers

The challenges and issues in rice farming especially in improving incomes and
competitiveness have been in existence even before the passage of Republic Act No. 11203,

nonetheless these remains unaddressed.

To provide a stop gap measure in the declining incomes of our rice farmers this bill seeks to
provide direct financial assistance to rice farming household by instituting Pantawid Magsasukang
Pilipino Program. In this proposed measure, the government shall allocate tariff revenues


collected, in excess of 10 billion pesos, from rice imports to our rice farmers in the form of
conditional cash transfer. This program will work in complementary with other social amelioration

program of the government.

These interventions are sought as in cognizance to our obligation to mitigate the abrupt
reduction of rice farmers income caused by the imposition of quantitative rice importation,
Moreover, because of the conditions stipulated in this bill, rice farmers will also increase their
knowledge and techniques in farming rice that we envision to make rice farming a more viable

income source to our rice farmers.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

RYAN B. REVILLA
Representative
AGIMAT Partylist



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

Nineteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. il 73

Introduced by Honorable Bryan B. Revilla

AN ACT
PROVIDING DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO FILIPINO RICE
FARMERS, ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE PANTAWID
MAGSASAKANG PILIPINO PROGRAM, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR,
AND OTHER PURPOSES

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

assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Pantawid Magsasakang Pilipino

Act.”

Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote a just
and dynamic social order through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full

employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality life for all

Towards this end, and in line with the constitutional mandate to Congress to give highest
Priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all the people to human
dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities by equitably diffusing wealth and political
power for the common good, the State shall formulate and implement programs and projects guided
by a national strategy to reduce poverty in the countryside and ensure the sufficiency and

accessibility of food products for all

Sec. 3. Pantawid Magsasakang Pilipino Program. ~ The Pantawid Magsasakang Pilipino

Program, hereinafter referred to as the Program, is hereby established as a national strategy for rural


poverty reduction and program for ensuring food security and sufficiency that provides conditional
cash transfer to the poor rice farming household to mitigate the decline of rice farming incomes that
may have been caused by the enforcement of the liberalization of importation, exportation and trade

of rice.

The provision of conditional cash transfer under the Program shall be complementary and
supplementary to other similar undertaking of the government and shall not be a replacement for any

existing programs for rice and rice farmers already implemented by any government agency

Sec. 4. Selection of Qualified Household Beneficiaries. - On a nationwide basis, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall, in consultation with the Department
of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), select qualified rice farming
household-beneficiaries of the program using a standardized targeting system. The DSWD shall
conduct regular revalidation of beneficiary targeting at least once every three (3) years

Sec, 5, Eligible Beneficiaries. — To be cligible to receive cash grants under the Program, rice

farming households or farmers must meet the following criteria:

(a) Classified as poor or near-poor based on a standardized targeting system and the poverty
threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) at the time of selection; and

(b) Willing to comply with the conditions specified in Section 8 of this Act

Sec. 6. Conditional Cash Transfer to Rice Farming Household-Beneficiaries. - The
Advisory Council created under the Republic Act No. 11310, otherwise known as the
“Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4PS Act,” shall determine the amount of cash

grants to be extended to rice farming household-beneficiaries based on the following factors:

(a) The amount of the annual tariff revenues from rice importation in excess of Ten billion
pesos (P10,000,000,000.00), based on the collection recorded in the second fiscal year
preceding the current fiscal year,

(b) The number of eligible rice faming household-beneficiaries as identified by the
standardized targeting system as provided in Section 7 of this Act;

(c) The administrative and financial cost of providing cash grants to qualified rice farming

household-beneficiaries; and

(d) Other factors that affect the level of available funding or the cost of implementation of

this Act.


Sec. 7. Coverage in the Rice Insurance Program. — All qualified rice farming household-
beneficiaries of the Program as identified by the standardized targeting system shall automatically
be covered by the Rice Insurance Program of the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC):
Provided, further, That the amount of premium payment for rice insurance for qualified rice farming
household-beneficiaries shall be complementary and supplementary to the conditional cash transfer

program as provided in this Act

Sec. 8, Conditions of Entitlement. - All qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries shall

comply with the following requirement for continued program eligibility:

(a) The qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries must continue to engage in pulay’

production;

(b) The responsible person/s from qualified rice farming houschold-beneficiaries who
actually engage/s in rice production must register with the DA under the Registry System

for Basic Sectors in Agriculture;

(c) The qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries must propagate and use inbred palay
seeds to be developed, bred, registered, certified and distributed by the Philippine Rice
Research Institute (PRRI) as provided under Republic Act No. 11203;

(d) The qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries must apply for subsidized insurance
coverage as provided in Section 7 of this Act no later than thirty (30) days from the date
of planting; and

(e) At least one (1) responsible person from qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries
must attend at least one (1) training program to be conducted by Philippine Center for
Postharvest Development and Mechanization, Agricultural Training Institute, or

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority in their respective municipality.

‘The DSWD may suspend any or all of the condition for entitlement during calamities, armed

conflict, state of war or lawless violence, and other similar fortuitous events.

Sec. 9. Noncompliance with the Conditions for Entitlement, ~ The responsible person of
a reported qualified household-beneficiary who fails to comply with the conditions set forth in
Section 8 of this Act shall be notified in writing. Further payment of cash grants shall be suspended
after four (4) months of noncompliance and the erring household-beneficiary hall be subject to case

management process of the DSWD.



‘The qualified rice farming household-beneficiary has one (1) year, reckoned from the date of
receipt of the written notification, to satisfy the conditions enumerated under Section 8 of this Act,

after which the erring household-beneficiary shall be removed from the Program.

Sec. 10. Mode of Cash Transfer. - the DSWD shall provide beneficiaries with direct nd
secured access to cash grants though any number of Authorized Government Depository Banks
(AGDBs). For localities not adequately served by and AGDB, the DSWD may contract the services
of rural banks, thrift banks, cooperative banks and other duly-accredited financial institutions

engaged in money remittance services.

Sec. 11. Cash-for-Work for Rice Farmers Program. ~ To provide additional income for
rice faming household-beneficiaries, the DSWD may, in coordination with government agencies
concerned, facilitate short-term intervention to provide temporary employment to members of
qualified rice farming households. Projects that may be incorporated under the Cash-for-Work

Program shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) irrigation programs and projects of the DA and the National Irrigation Administration;

(b) public works program and projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways;
(c) water supply and sanitation projects of the Department of the Interior and Local

Government and local water districts;

(d) disaster preparedness, mitigation, relief, rehabilitation, and risk reduction projects of the
Office of the Civil Defense, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council,

and other similar agencies of government, and

(e) other similar programs and projects of national government agencies, government-owned

or controlled corporations, and local government units.

‘The DSWD shall determine the payment rate of cash-for-work employment: Provided, That
such payment shall be in no case lower than seventy percent (70%) of prevailing daily wage rate set
by the National Wages and Productivity Commission

The DSWD shall utilize the mode of cash transfer as provided in Section 10 of this Act to
transfer payment to services rendered by member of qualified rice farming households under the

Cash-for-Work for Rice Farmers Program.



Sec. 12, Lead Agency. - The DSWD shall serve as the central planning, coordinating,
implementing and monitoring body of the Program. In the implementation fo this Act, the DSWD
shall perform the following functions:

(a) Selection and application of appropriate, effective, and cost-efficient methods in
identification and selection of qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries in
coordination with DA and DAR;

(b) Identification and selection of target farming household-beneficiaries based on a uniform,
objective and transparent selection process;

(c) Coordination with various national and local government agencies including non-
government and private sector organizations, to ensure full implementation of the

provision of this Act;

(d) Establishment of participatory system and methodologies to monitor and evaluate the
compliance of household-beneficiaries and the implementation of the Program.

(e) Provision of recommendation measures rules and regulations to the Advisory Council in

order to improve the delivery of commitments made in this Act;
(f) Determination of program coverage based on a standardized targeting system;

(g) Provision of seminar-workshop and training programs to educate qualified rice farming

household-beneficiaries about the conditions and other actions pertinent to this Act;

(h) Synchronization and harmonization of the implementation of the Program with other

similar or related programs of the government;

(i) Submission of an annual report to Congress on matters pertinent to the operations and
financial status of the Program; and

(j) Performance of other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the proper

implementation of this Act

Sec. 13. Reporting. ~ The DSWD shall publish, on an annual basis, a full report on the
implementation of the Program during the previous fiscal year. The report shall include, but not
limited to, financial disclosures, the number of rice farming household-beneficiaries included in the
Program based on geographic, socioeconomic and cultural circumstances, and recommendations to
improve the implementation of the Program, This report shall be submitted, either in printed form or
by way of electronic document, to the Congress prior to the submission of the President’s annual

budget. The Secretary of Social Welfare and Development Agency's web administration or the web


administrator's equivalent shall be responsible for ensuring that the said report is posted on the
DSWD website.

Sec. 14. Convergence of Program and Services. ~ Within the framework of a national
Poverty alleviation strategy and a comprehensive food security program, the various agencies of
government implementing multi-stakeholder programs and service for rice farmers shall guarantee
that these programs and services complement and converge seamlessly with the aim of ensuring that
the targeted rice farming household-beneficiaries are alleviated from poverty. Such convergence
shall focus on the enhancement of operational efficiency, ensuring the realization of program
outcomes, and strengthening of inter-agency partnerships. The government shall monitor the
performance of these agencies to ensure the sustainability of their respective programs

Sec. 15. Monitoring and Evaluation of the Program. — The DSWD shall monitor and
evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Program and reort its status at least once every

three (3) years in order to ensure the realization of objectives declared in Section 2 of this Act

The Independent Monitoring Committee created under Republic Act No. 11310, otherwise
known as the "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Act,” shall be used to complement the
monitoring activities of the DSWD implementation of the Program. The Independent Monitoring
Committee shall submit a report of its monitoring activities relative to the implementation of the

Program to the Advisory Council

Sec. 16. Congressional Oversight. — The Congressional Oversight Committee on
Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) shall conduct a periodic review of the
Program, considering, among others, the report of the monitoring and evaluation activities of the

DSWD and the Independent Monitoring Committee as provided in Section 15 of this Act.

Sec. 17. Appropriations. ~ The amount necessary for the implementation of the provision
of this Act shall be sourced from the annual tariff revenues from rice importation in excess of Ten
Billion pesos (P10,000,000,000.00)

Sec. 18. Prohibited Acts and Corresponding Penalties. — Any person, whether acting in

conspiracy with public officials or not, who by act or omission, inserts or allows the insertion of data

or false information, or diverts or allows the diversion of information that ought to be contained in
the registry, or transfers or aids in the transfer of cash grant to persons other than the qualified rice
farming household-beneficiaries, shall be penalized with a fine of not less than thirty thousand pesos
(P30,000.00) nor more than one hundred thousand pesos (P 100,000.00) or imprisonment of not less
than three (3) months nor more than three (3) years, or both, at the discretion of the court: /’rovided,
‘That if the offense is committed by a corporation, trust, firm, partnerships, association or any other
entity, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers of such corporation, trust, firm,
partnership, association or entity: Provided, further, That in addition to the penalties that may be


imposed by the court the offender punished under this section shall be subject to perpetual
disqualification to hold public office: Provided, finally, That if the offender punished under this
section is a public official or government employee, the accumulated leave credits and retirement

benefits, if any, shall be forfeited in favor of the State.

Sec. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within thirty (30) days from effectivity
of this Act, the DSWD, DA, Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management
shall, in coordination with government agencies concerned and after consultation with directly
affected stakeholders, promulgate the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provision of

this Act,

Sec. 20. Separability Clause. - If any portion of this Act is declared invalid or
unconstitutional, the portions or provisions which are not affected shall continue to be in full force

and effect.

Sec. 21, Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders, issuances, and rules
and regulations or parts thereof which are contrary to and inconsistent with this Act are hereby

repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

Sec. 22. Effeetivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication,

Approved,