Solon seeks scrapping of import duties on rice, fertilizers, agri equipment

A senior administration lawmaker is seeking the scrapping of tariff duties on imported rice, fertilizers and agricultural equipment to lower the cheapest retail price of rice to no more than P12 per kilo to make it available to the poorest Filipinos.

Northern Samar Rep. Emil Ong made the proposal through House Bill 6532, saying the tariff rate pegged at 41 percent in 2002 has made the country’s staple food, which is rice, treated as a non-essential good.

“Rice is treated no differently from other nonessential goods and commodities in violation of the principle which holds that the imposition of tax shall be uniform and equitable,” said Ong, who is chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment.

The lawmaker said the stiff rates on imported rice only encourages big time smugglers who find it cheaper to bribe customs officials than pay the right amount of tax.

He said as the main staple food, rice is the single most politically important commodity in the country.

“It (rice) accounts for nine percent of the total household spending and about one-third of total food consumption. It is grown in one-third of the country’s agricultural lands or about four million hectares out of the total 13 million hectares,” Ong said.

With the trade liberalization in the Philippine rice sector, he said it had been hoped the country would never again face another rice crisis.

“However, although the cost of rice in the world market had gone down, its domestic base retail price is higher by at least P7 per kilo. House Bill 6532 seeks to lower the price of the cheapest retailed rice to no more than P12 per kilo thereby increasing its availability to the poorest among us,” he said.

Section 1 of HB 6532 provides the provision of any law to the contrary notwithstanding, no tariff duties shall be imposed on imported rice, fertilizers and agricultural equipment while Section 2 gives to the Secretary of Finance the responsibility to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement the proposal once it is enacted into law.