EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
First Regular Session 
)
fteuaic
If of the ^ r tr tu r f
SENATE
S. No.1047
• If 
SEP 16 P I *33
RECfclVtDBY.
Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto
AN ACT
PROVIDING DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO FILIPINO RICE FARMERS, 
ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE PANTAWID MAGSASAKANG 
FILIPINO PROGRAM, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The rescission of quantitative import restrictions on rice serves two 
fundamental purposes. First, it intends to reduce the prices of rice in the market and 
to make the food staple more accessible to the poor and low-income families. Second, 
it seeks to protect the interests of rice farmers by providing a means to raise the 
farmers' income and consequently, their competitiveness relative to rice farmers in 
other rice-producing countries. As Dr. Emil Q. Javier noted1, attaining the first purpose 
is relatively straightforward but achieving the second is challenging and problematic.
The 
challenges 
and 
issues 
in 
improving 
agricultural 
incomes 
and 
competitiveness, while having been in existence prior to the effectivity of Republic Act 
No. 11203, nonetheless remain largely unaddressed. Provision of farm machineries 
would not immediately aid in reducing labor cost, improving yield volume and quality, 
nor optimizing farm operations, as the promise of efficiency might not offset the cost 
of owning, operating and maintaining farm machineries for small and at times 
economically nonviable farms and landholdings. Developing, propagating and 
promoting inbred palay seeds would not instantly lead to improvement in rice
1 Javier, 
E. 
Q. 
(2019). 
"No rush 
in 
crafting IRR of the 
Rice Tariffication 
Act." Accessed 
from 
https://business.m b.com .ph/2019/03/02/no-rush-in craftinp. irr of-the-rice tariffication-act on 7 August 2019.


production volume because the system that will provide inbred seeds to rice farmers 
remains largely inadequate and extensively vulnerable to corruption. Extension of an 
additional credit line would not necessarily increase farmers' preference towards 
government credit over informal loans, because the issues regarding the tedious 
documentary and other requirements imposed upon farmer-lendees and the chronic 
problems concerning the economic equity, efficiency and viability of agricultural lands 
remain unresolved. Agricultural extension services can only be effective if such 
programs are appropriately combined with other government interventions such as 
extensive research, intensive market development, and accessible credit supply -  most 
of which are, at present, insufficiently extended to rice farmers. Most importantly, 
these interventions would do little to address the single, most devastating impact of 
the rescission of quantitative rice import restrictions have on rice farmers: the drastic 
decline in farmers' income from rice production.
Hence, this bill seeks to provide direct financial assistance to rice farming 
households by instituting a Pantawid Magsasakang PiUpino Program. In this proposed 
measure, the allocation of tariff revenues collected in excess of PIO billion shall be 
provided to farmers in the form of a conditional cash transfer program. Moreover, it 
mandates the provision of rice insurance to protect rice crops against insurable risks. 
Lastly, it provides farmers with additional income through temporary employment in 
government projects.
These interventions are sought in cognizance of the short-term obligation to 
mitigate the abrupt reduction of farmer incomes caused by the rescission of 
quantitative rice import restrictions and the medium- to long-term need to keep 
farmers producing food staples, in line with the twin objectives of improving overall 
agricultural productivity and achieving food security.
In view of the foregoing, the swift passage of the proposed measure is earnestly
sought.
/mdg


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
i) '•& «  ol dx Ikrattatir
I f  
SEP 16 P I 03
SENATE
RECEIVLDBY;
s. No. 1047
Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto
AN ACT
PROVIDING DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO FILIPINO RICE FARMERS, 
ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE 
PANTAWID MAGSASAKANG 
FILIPINO PROGRAM, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short Tide. -  This Act shall be known as the " Pantawid Magsasakang
2 
Piiipino Act."
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Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  It is hereby declared the policy of the State to
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promote a just and dynamic social order through policies that provide adequate social
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services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality
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of life for all.
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Towards this end, and in line with the constitutional mandate to Congress to
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give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right
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of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and political inequalities,
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and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the
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common good, the State shall formulate and implement programs and projects guided
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by a national strategy to reduce poverty in the countryside and ensure the sufficiency
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and accessibility of food products for all.
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Sec. 3. Pantawid Magsasakang Piiipino Program. -  The Pantawid Magsasakang
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Piiipino Program, hereinafter referred to as the Program, is hereby established as a
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national strategy for rural poverty reduction and program for ensuring food security
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and sufficiency that provides conditional cash transfer to poor rice farming households


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to mitigate the decline of rice farming incomes that may have been caused by the
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enforcement of the liberalization of importation, exportation and trade of rice.
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The provision of conditional cash transfer under the Program shall be
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complementary and supplementary to other similar undertaking of the government
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and shall not be a replacement for any existing programs for rice and rice farmers
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already implemented by any government agency.
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Sec. 4. Selection o f Qualified Household Beneficiaries. -  On a nationwide basis,
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the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall, in consultation with
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the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR),
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select qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries of the program using a
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standardized targeting system. The DSWD shall conduct regular revalidation of
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beneficiary targeting at least once every three (3) years.
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Sec. 5. Eligible Beneficiaries. -  To be eligible to receive cash grants under the
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Program, rice farming households or farmers must meet the following criteria:
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(a) Classified as poor or near-poor based on a standardized targeting system
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and the poverty threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority at the time of
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selection; and
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(b) Willing to comply with the conditions specified in Section 8 of this Act.
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Sec. 6. Conditional Cash Transfer to Rice Farming Household-Beneficiaries. -
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The Advisory Council created under Republic Act No. 11310, otherwise known as the
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"Pantawid Pamiiyang Piiipino Program (4PS) Act," shall determine the amount of cash
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grants to be extended to rice farming household-beneficiaries based on the following
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factors:
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(a) The amount of the annual tariff revenues from rice importation in excess
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of Ten billion pesos (P10,000,000,000.00), based on the collection recorded in the
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second fiscal year preceding the current fiscal year;
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(b) The number of eligible rice farming household-beneficiaries as identified by
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the standardized targeting system as provided in Section 7 of this Act;
29 
(c) The administrative and financial cost of providing cash grants to qualified
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rice farming household-beneficiaries; and
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(d) Other factors that affect the level of available funding or the cost of
32 
implementation of this Act.


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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, That the insurance premium for rice 
insurance shall be fully subsidized by the National Government: Provided, further, That 
the amount of premium payment for rice insurance for qualified rice farming 
household-beneficiaries shall not be deducted from the appropriations provided under 
Section 17 of this Act: Provided, finaiiy. That the provision of subsidized rice insurance 
to qualified rice farming household-beneficiaries shall be complementary and 
supplementary to the conditional cash transfer program as provided in this Act.
Sec. 8. Conditions for Entitiement -  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 
production;
(b) The 
responsible 
person/s from 
qualified 
rice 
farming 
household- 
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 paiaysee6s to be developed, bred, registered, certified and distributed by the 
Philippine Rice Research Institute 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 conditions for entitlement during 
calamities, armed conflict, state of war or lawless violence, and other similar fortuitous 
events.


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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 shall 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 o f Cash Transfer. -  The DSWD shall provide beneficiaries with 
direct and secured access to cash grants through any number of Authorized 
Government Depository Banks (AGDBs). For localities not adequately served by an 
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 farming 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 programs 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


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(e) other similar programs and projects of national government agencies,
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government-owned or -controlled corporations, and local government units.
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The DSWD shall determine the payment rate of cash-for-work employment:
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Provided, That such payment shall be in no case lower than seventy percent (70%) of
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the prevailing daily wage rate set by the National Wages and Productivity Commission.
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The DSWD shall utilize the mode of cash transfer as provided in Section 10 of
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this Act to transfer payment for services rendered by members of qualified rice farming
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households under the Cash-for-Work for Rice Farmers Program.
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Sec. 12. Lead Agency. -  The DSWD shall serve as the central planning,
10 
coordinating, 
implementing 
and 
monitoring 
body 
of the 
Program. 
In 
the
11 
implementation of this Act, the DSWD shall perform the following functions:
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(a) Selection and application of appropriate, effective, and cost-efficient
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methods in identification and selection of qualified rice farming household-
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beneficiaries in coordination with DA and DAR;
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(b) Identification and selection of target rice farming household-beneficiaries
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based on a uniform, objective and transparent selection process;
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(c) Coordination with various national and local government agencies,
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including 
non-government and 
private 
sector organizations, 
to 
ensure 
full
19 
implementation of the provisions of this Act;
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(d) Establishment of participatory system and methodologies to monitor and
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evaluate the compliance of household-beneficiaries and the implementation of the
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Program;
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(e) Provision of recommendation measures, rules and regulations to the
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Advisory Council in order to improve the delivery of commitments made in this Act;
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(f) Determination of program coverage based on a standardized targeting
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system;
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(g) Provision of seminar-workshop and training programs to educate qualified
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rice farming household-beneficiaries about the conditions and other actions pertinent
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to this Act;
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(h) Synchronization and harmonization of the implementation of the Program
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with other similar or related programs of the government;


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(i) Submission of an annual report to Congress on matters pertinent to the
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operations and financial status of the Program; and
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(j) Performance of other functions as may be necessary or incidental to the
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proper implementation of the provisions of this Act.
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Sec. 13. Reporting. -  The DSWD shall publish, on an annual basis, a full report
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on the implementation of the Program during the previous fiscal year. The report shall
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include, but not be limited to, financial disclosures, the number of rice farming
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household-beneficiaries included in the Program based on geographic, socioeconomic
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and cultural circumstances, and recommendations to improve the implementation of
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the Program. This report shall be submitted, either in printed form or by way of
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electronic document, to the Congress prior to the submission of the President's annual
12 
budget. The Secretary of Social Welfare and Development and the Agency's web
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administrator or the web administrator's equivalent shall be responsible for ensuring
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that the said report is posted on the DSWD website.
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Sec. 14. Convergence o f Programs and Services. -  Within the framework of a
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national poverty alleviation strategy and a comprehensive food security program, the
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various agencies of government implementing multi-stakeholder programs and
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services for rice farmers shall guarantee that these programs and services complement
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and converge seamlessly with the aim of ensuring that the targeted rice farming
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household-beneficiaries are alleviated from poverty. Such convergence shall focus on
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the enhancement of operational efficiency, ensuring the realization of program
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outcomes, and strengthening of inter-agency partnerships. The government shall
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monitor the performance of these agencies to ensure the sustainability of their
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respective programs.
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Sec. 15. Monitoring and Evaluation o f the Program. -  The DSWD shall monitor
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and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the Program and report its
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status at least once every three (3) years in order to ensure the realization of the
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objectives declared in Section 2 of this Act.
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The Independent Monitoring Committee created under Republic Act No. 11310,
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otherwise known as the "Pantawid Pamiiyang PiHpino Program (4PS) Act," shall be
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used to complement the monitoring activities of the DSWD in the implementation of
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the Program. The Independent Monitoring Committee shall submit a report of its


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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 
provisions 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 Penaities. -  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 (P100,000.00) or 
imprisonment of not less than three (3) months nor more than three (3) years, or 
both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That if the offense is committed by a 
corporation, trust, firm, partnership, 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 other government agencies 
concerned and after consultation with directly affected stakeholders, promulgate the 
rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act.


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Sec. 20. Separability Clause. -  If any portion of this Act is declared invalid or
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unconstitutional, the portions or provisions which are not affected shall continue to be
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in full force and effect.
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Sec. 21. Repeating Clause. -  All laws, acts, decrees, executive orders,
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issuances, and rules and regulations or parts thereof which are contrary to and
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inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 22. Effectivity. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
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publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,