Press Release
March 24, 2008

Press statement of Senator M.A. Madrigal on current shortage in rice supply

The current shortage in rice supply is a disaster long waiting to happen. For this, we only have trade liberalization to blame. Ito ang tunay na dahilan kung bakit nagkakaroon ng pagkukulang sa bigas.

The Philippines is Asia's top rice importer with an average annual importation of over one million metric tons a year from 1995 to 2006, from 151,588 metric tons from 1984 to 1994. 1995 was the year when the Philippines became a member of the World Trade Organization and intensified trade liberalization, through the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) which then Senator Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo strongly pushed for.

There has also been no serious effort to curb rice smuggling. Based on the calculation of Fair Trade Alliance, the government is being robbed of revenues amounting to P175 billion a year due to smuggling. Money which could have been better used to subsidize the poor rice farmers.

Rice importation will not resolve the crisis we are in now, this is like putting band aid on a malignant cancer. This becomes a question of survival for many Filipinos. At this stage, I call on government to immediately implement the following measures now:

1. Moratorium on conversions of agricultural land to increase productivity;

2. Provide subsidies to rice farmers to increase productivity;

3. Suspend implementation of the Biofuels Law which allows land use conversion from agricultural land to produce ethanol; and

4. Stop the monopoly of the rice cartels operating in the country and their smuggling operations.

Should the government fail at present to address the root of the problem, solutions, expect rice prices to increase to Fifty pesos (P50.00) per kilo. Already, rice prices have increased by thirty percent (30%) since last year.

At P50.00 per kilo of rice, this puts rice beyond the reach of ordinary Filipinos who are now spending only P27.00 per day for their food requirements.

This can become a mega-national disaster. Rice is the lifeblood of the Filipino, more precious to the common man than gold.

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