As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. marks his third year in office tomorrow, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) criticizes his administration for worsening the country’s rice crisis and accelerating the decline of the local rice industry.

“Three years into his term, Marcos Jr. has become the single biggest saboteur of Philippine rice,” said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos. “He campaigned in 2022 on promises of P20 per kilo rice and even suggested suspending rice liberalization. Instead, he reinforced the disastrous Rice Liberalization Law and deepened the country’s dependence on imports.”

The KMP pointed out that overall, rice prices have remained high despite various policy measures such as tariff reductions, price ceilings, and retail subsidies. These outcomes highlight the failure of the administration’s import-dependent policies. The government issued Executive Orders 10, 50, and most recently 62, lowering rice tariffs from 35 percent to 15 percent. Yet, inflation in rice prices persists.

KMP Secretary-General Ronnie Manalo criticized the so-called BBM rice or Bente Bigas Meron Na, saying it appears only at government showcase events and relies on imported supply. “It is a tragic irony that our farmers are going bankrupt while the government spends billions to make imported rice look affordable.”

According to KMP, rice imports have surged to historic levels under Marcos Jr. Following EO 62, monthly import arrivals rose to 390,000 metric tons, with a record 572,000 metric tons brought in during October 2024, at the height of the local harvest season. This flood of imports, they warned, is crushing domestic production.

From 2019 to 2023, the value of rice imports more than doubled from US$737 million US$1.6 billion. At the same time, rice importation became more concentrated. In 2024, only 10 importers controlled 40 percent of the total rice import volume, up from 24 percent in 2019. Commercial traders now hold 56 percent of the country’s total rice stocks, further showing proof of the existence of a rice cartel.

“The rice cartel is thriving while farmers are barely surviving,” said Ramos. “Palay production remains stagnant, farmer incomes continue to fall, and rural livelihoods are collapsing. This is economic sabotage and not food security.”

KMP also denounced the so-called RLL+ amendment or Republic Act 12078, passed in late 2024, calling it “cosmetic and misleading.” The group noted that despite granting “new powers” to the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority under a declared “food security emergency,” the core policy of liberalized rice importation remains unchanged. The anti-agricultural smuggling law enacted in the same year has yet to yield a single conviction.

“The Marcos Jr. government is merely holding hearings and passing populist laws to create the illusion of action. The real problems are still being ignored,” Manalo said.

The group noted that government spending on rice has ballooned, with an average annual budget of 22 billion pesos under the Rice Liberalization Law and additional funds from rice tariff collections. However, palay production has remained stagnant at 19 million metric tons (MT) per year since 2017.

“The public deserves full transparency on where the billions of pesos intended for rice producers have gone,” Ramos added. “The Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund and other tariff revenues must be thoroughly audited. On the ground, farmers are not feeling any of the promised support.”

From 2018 to 2023, KMP said farmers’ net incomes dropped by over Php6,000 per hectare each year. “The BBM administration is clinging to a failed and anti-farmer policy of rice importation. It is time to repeal the Rice Liberalization Law, break up the rice trading monopoly, and implement a genuine program for food self-sufficiency.”

“Tatlong taon ng kapabayaan at pambubudol ang naranasan natin. While the government keeps importing rice and other food, our local farmers continue to suffer losses. The President’s promises to lower rice prices and uplift farmers have proven to be a complete failure,” Ramos concluded. ###