President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, 22 July 2024. Screenshot from Presidential Communications Office Facebook page
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 July) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured that his administration will prioritize locally-produced rice despite the government’s importation of the staple crop to lower prices and meet the growing demand.
During his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday, Marcos acknowledged that Filipinos continue to suffer from the rising cost of basic commodities, particularly rice, driven by domestic and global market forces, wars, and natural phenomenon such as El Niño.
He said compelling emergency reasons such as illegal price manipulations by hoarders and smuggling forced the government to implement temporary mandated price ceilings on rice, and extend the reduced tariff rates to facilitate the importation of basic commodities, including rice, corn, and pork until the end of this year.
Speaking for about one and a half hours, Marcos assured that “these are only temporary solutions” to address the problem on rising cost of basic commodities.
“The hard lesson of this last year has made very clear that whatever current data bannering our country as among the best country in Asia means nothing to a Filipino who is confronted by the price of rice at P45 to P65 per kilo,” he said.
Marcos said that his administration does not ignore the problem of inflation being felt by the Filipino people.
He assured the agriculture sector of the administration’s support to strengthen the production of rice to fill in the gap in supply, such as financial and technical support on best farming practices.
The President said that rice production last year was estimated at 13 million metric tons (MT), which was still lower compared with the national annual demand of 16 million MT.
He also vowed to improve infrastructure projects in the agriculture sector, such as irrigation projects, roads, and post-harvest facilities.
Ryan Amper, Davao Consumer Movement (DCM) convenor, said in a statement on Monday that they were expecting Marcos to offer concrete solutions to the pressing issues affecting the common people “who struggle daily to make ends meet.”
Amper said that low and middle-income families are particularly affected by rising cost of essential items like rice, meat, vegetables, and other staples. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
