The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) criticized the gradual reduction of the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of imported rice as another palliative measure for making rice affordable. The Department of Agriculture is eyeing a P49 per kilogram price by March of this year. According to KMP, this is just another charade to supposedly reduce rice prices while not addressing the roots of high price of rice: landlessness among farmers, high cost of rice production, neoliberal policies in agriculture, and massive importation of rice that hamper local production.

“Itong bahagya at dahan-dahang pagpapababa ng presyo ng bigas ay senyales lamang ng pagkataranta ng DA sa pagkalantad nito bilang tagapagtanggol ng mga trader at kartel. Ang mga magsasaka sa kabilang banda ay lugi parin sa mababang kita sa ani, at patuloy na iniinda ng gobyerno,” said KMP National Chairperson and Makabayan senate bet Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos.

DA secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. deflected about the initial P58 MSRP, and quipped that substantial alleviation to the rice crisis will “shock the market” and “a lot of people will go out of business”. Meanwhile, farmgate price of palay is in decline with a P20.70 average price in December 2024. Farmers and small businesses are already bankrupt and in debt due to the current conditions brought upon by the government policies such as the Rice Tariffication Law and the Executive Order 62.

“At this point, ano pa ba ang maririnig nating solusyon mula sa DA na masasagot talaga ang krisis sa bigas? Di na natapos ang kung ano-anong solusyon kuno ang ipinapatupad nila mula pa noong nakaraang Disyembre, sa halip na magbigay ng suporta para sa lokal na produksyon ng bigas, at pagpapatigil ng malawakang importasyon.”, Ramos added.

The Marcos Jr. regime still fails to meet its P20 per kilogram of rice promise and still veers towards importation and fattening the rice cartels instead of enacting pro-farmer measures that will definitely relieve the ongoing rice crisis. Its declaration of the Food Security Emergency only serves as a clarion call for farmers and consumers to declare the Marcos Jr. policies on food and agriculture as catastrophes.

KMP calls for everyone to make the DA and the Marcos Jr. regime accountable on its failure in the agriculture sector and its ineptitude on applying real solutions to the food and economic crisis as a whole. Genuine land reform, significant support and subsidy to local production, and pivoting towards food self-sufficiency will remain to be the real and actionable solutions to the skyrocketing prices of rice. ###