A national peasant alliance has once again pressed Congress to scrap the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL), insisting that the policy has been catastrophic for farmers and consumers since it was enacted in 2019.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) told the House Committee on Agriculture and Food on Wednesday that the law has not delivered on its promises of affordable rice and higher incomes.
Instead, it warned that the law has deepened import dependence, collapsed farmgate prices of palay, and eroded food security.
“Repealing RA 11203 is not only an economic necessity but also a matter of national survival,” KMP declared, vowing to mobilize farmers, consumers, and the public to demand urgent action from lawmakers.
KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos said the measure “opened the floodgates to unregulated rice importation, resulting not in lower rice prices, but in the collapse of farmgate prices of palay.”
“What fell was not the price of rice for consumers, but the price of palay for farmers. Every harvest season, Filipino farmers are pushed deeper into debt because they cannot even recover their capital,” the group stressed.
The organization argued that RA 11203 favored large importers and traders, creating what it called a “new rice cartel” that controls a significant share of supply and distribution.
It also said the removal of the National Food Authority’s (NFA) power to regulate imports and stabilize prices stripped government of its key mechanism to protect both farmers and consumers from manipulation and artificial hikes.
KMP dismissed proposals to amend the law as inadequate, saying such measures fail to address the roots of the rice crisis.
The group argued that as long as RA 11203 remains, the NFA’s lost powers will not be restored, and the liberalized market will continue to benefit importers, hoarders, and smugglers at the expense of both farmers and consumers.
The peasant alliance reiterated its backing for House Bill 599, which seeks to repeal RA 11203 and reinstate the NFA’s regulatory powers while expanding government support through palay procurement, subsidies, insurance, irrigation, and post-harvest facilities.
It also endorsed House Bill 578 or the proposed Rice Industry Development Act (RIDA), which lays down a comprehensive program for sustainable rice production and guarantees consumer access to affordable rice.
“The real solution to the rice crisis is not further liberalization or amendment to RA 11203, but the revitalization of local rice production. By restoring the powers of the NFA, ensuring palay procurement and price support, and delivering comprehensive support to farmers, the country can build a self-reliant rice industry,” KMP said.
