Latest news with #RICE)Act
GMA Network
02-08-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
DA: Restored NFA regulatory powers will help sustain P20/kg rice
A farmer dries rice on the side of a road during a hot day in Candaba, Pampanga, April 30, 2024. REUTERS/ Eloisa Lopez The passage of a measure that seeks to restore the regulatory and market intervention functions of the National Food Authority (NFA) will help ensure the sustainability of the Marcos administration's P20 per kilogram of rice program, the Department of Agriculture said Saturday. At a news forum, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa reported that more than 450,000 metric tons of rice are currently in the NFA's inventory, which is equivalent to 9 million sacks or 16% of the total national inventory. De Mesa said the figure is higher than the usual 5% in previous years. He added that the NFA has released 455,000 sacks of rice to purchase more palay or unmilled rice from local farmers. The Agriculture spokesperson called for the passage of the House Bill 1 or the proposed Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act, which grants the NFA regulatory powers aimed at lowering rice prices and protecting farmers. If passed, a food security emergency need not to be declared for the NFA to take action, and the law should expedite the release of funds for the purchase of rice from farmers, according to a report by Nico Waje on Super Radyo dzBB. ?20/kilo na rice program, kayang itawid hanggang sa susunod na taon, kung pagbabasehan ang kasalukuyang imbentaryo ng @bigas_NFA — DA | via @nicowaje — DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) August 2, 2025 In his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 28, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the P20 rice program is expanding nationwide, adding that his campaign promise to bring down prices of the grain staple to this level has already been achieved. The next day, the Agriculture Department said coverage of the P20 per kilogram rice initiative will include middle-class families by 2026. It is currently available to members of vulnerable sectors. Initially launched in the Visayas last April, at least 162 locations across the country have been offering the cheaper subsidized rice, the DA earlier report. The P20-per-kilo rice initiative operates primarily through KADIWA ng Pangulo outlets. The rice is being sourced from NFA stocks, which are procured directly from local farmers. The Agriculture Department said the subsidized rice program not only ensures affordable food staple for consumers, but also helps decongest NFA warehouses. With more available space at the warehouses, the DA said, more palay can be purchased at prices higher than those offered by private traders. Rice, corn harvest Meanwhile, De Mesa also reported that the first semester of rice and corn harvest in the country is doing well. According to previous data, the largest harvest reached 9.2 million metric tons in 2023. It decreased in 2024 amid the effects of El Niño and La Niña. This year, the harvest is expected to rise with better weather conditions. The government's minimum projection for 2025 is 11 million metric tons, as it targets to harvest 20.4 million metric tons. The DA said the target can be reached based on the current production. It added that if good harvest continues, rice imports are also expected to decrease, making the country self-sufficient to rice. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
01-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
House: Almost 700 proposed bills filed on Day 1 of 20th Congress
Nearly 700 bills were filed on the first day of the 20th Congress at the House of Representatives. In a statement, the House said that 683 measures were filed on Monday, June 30. Of this number 666 were House bills, 16 were House Resolutions (expressing the sense of the House) and one Joint Resolution. The first bill filed on record, filed by Leyte Representative and expected 20th Congress House Speaker Martin Romualdez, was the House Bill 1 or the Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act which grants the National Food Authority (NFA) additional regulatory powers aimed at lowering rice prices and protecting farmers. Other bills filed by Romualdez during Day 1 were: Bill exempting Overseas Filipino Workers' (OFWs) from paying premium contributions to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) Bill establishing the Philippine Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) Bill updating the system on providing private school educational assistance and creation of Eastern Visayas Development Authority. Romualdez co-authored all the abovementioned bills numbered House Bills 1 to 5 with Tingog Party-list Representatives Jude Acidre and Andrew Julian Romualdez, who is Romualdez's son. Neophyte Valenzuela City Representative Gerald Cloyd Alexis Galang, meanwhile, filed seven bills on Monday, including Magna Carta for Senior Citizens, Social Pension of Senior Citizens Act and bill seeking to amend the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act of 2015. Another neophyte lawmaker, Kabataan party-list Representative and lawyer Renee Co and comebacking Antonio Tinio of ACT Teachers party-list also filed the Delivery of Accessible Services in Universities (DASURV) bill, which seeks to provide housing, health, and food assistance to public school students. —VAL, GMA Integrated News "The DASURV Bill is our answer to the continuing financial barriers that prevent Filipino youth from accessing quality higher education. Hindi pa rin totoo ang free education kung marami pang kailangang bayaran ng mga estudyante at kanilang mga pamilya," Co said. In addition, Tinio and Co also refiled the Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, or Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Equality measure, which seeks to prohibit discrimination among the members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA) community. "For too long, the SOGIESC Equality Bill has been delayed despite overwhelming public support. Hindi na dapat maghintay pa ang LGBTQIA+ community para sa equal protection under the law," Co added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
