Palace backs DA's call to amend Rice Tariffication Law

Malacañang supports the Department of Agriculture's call for Congress to revisit the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) and grant the National Food Authority (NFA) more regulatory functions.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro hopes for a review of the RTL to restore the NFA's proper authority, particularly its ability to import rice.

The DA has been calling for stronger regulatory powers for the NFA to enable intervention in the market by releasing and selling rice stocks.

The RTL, passed in 2019, diminished the NFA's function on releasing rice stocks bought from local farmers.

While the RTL was recently revised on December 9, 2024, allowing the DA to declare a food security emergency on rice, the NFA can only release its stocks, and the DA sells them to local government units.