The Rice tariffication law undoubtedly holds major complexities as several sectors can be affected

through the aforementioned law. Without a thorough comprehension and reliance on various
disciplines, it will be difficult to break down and understand how the said law will function in specific
fields. Moreover, the complications have the possibility to expand if left unanalyzed. The law has been
implemented on the 14th of February 2019 and it is undeniably deemed as relevant in recognizing its
advantages and disadvantages within economical, legal, political, historical, and sociological scopes since
it is a law that has been newly imposed.
(VAN DAG DAG IF EVER)

The newly passed Rice Tariffication Law is insufficient to the Rice Self Sufficiency goal of the
government. The Philippines still import rice in order to sustain the rice shortage that is happening.
Philippines Is an agricultural and rice country but the country still import rice in order to sustain the
shortage in the country.

In the study conducted by Davidson (2016), he explained that there are many factors why we started to
import rice. Factors such as geography, international policy pressure, and even history are the main
reason why we started importing rice. In the geographical issue, the study explained that the Philippines
import rice because of the factors such as faulty government policy, corruption, conversion of
agricultural land to commercial use deteriorating irrigation system are one of the factors to consider in
the geographical explanation of the study. Geographical constraints such as lack of river deltas are one
of the reasons why we lack irrigation to sustain the rice. But during the time of Ferdinand Marcos, he
redirect and mobilize projects which would help advance and find solution to the rice problems we are
facing back then.

Furthermore, Davidson (2016) also put into detail that the reason why we import is because of
neoliberalism. Neoliberalism promotes free trade among other countries. Policies which promotes
neoliberalist concept such as reduction of state subsidies and enriching big corporations which affects
the agricultural sector of our country. In the historical factor of why we import rice, this may go back to
the policies and events that happened in the past why we started to import rice.

These factors do not present rice self-sufficiency, but it is a band-aid solution to rice shortage that is
happening in the Philippines. The factors presented are one of the reasons why the Philippines can’t
achieve rice self-sufficiency.

In the study of Galero, So, and Tiongco (2014), they emphasized that the growth in the agricultural
sector of the Philippines remains slow. The Philippine agricultural sector experienced a rapid growth in
the early 1970s but started to decline in the 1980s because of low commodity prices and the high cost of
inputs in the agriculture such as fertilizer. The Philippines also started to have a high import than export
in food trade in the mid-1990s. The labor force in agricultural sector started to decline in the 1980s
which affects the production of agricultural crops such as rice. The start of decline might be link from
the shift to agriculture to non-agricultural labor force. Data in 2011 also showed that the non-
agricultural labor force has a daily wage salary of P349 while, the agricultural sector only makes P158.

Galero et al. (2014) also pointed out that the government spend less in the agricultural sector in the past
decade according to the data from 1990 to 2012. We can achieve rice self-sufficiency if the government
give focus on the agricultural expenditure in order to raise the productivity of our own agricultural
products.

With the factors presented on why we started importing rice knowing we are an agricultural country and
pointing out the reason why our agricultural sector falls behind from our neighboring countries, various
disciplines should collaborate in order to solve rice problem that the Philippines is facing. Economics,
Political Science, Sociology, History, and Legal Management are the assigned disciplines to the
researchers.

Economics is important in order to study the issue of efficiency of Rice Tariffication Law to the Food
Insecurity in the Philippines. Economics will help us understand why rice prices go up and down and
what factors affects the prices. It will also give suggestions on what possible solutions and actions should
be made according to the data presented to them. The cost of production is also explained by the
economist. An economist is vital in understanding the possible distribution of cost to the production and
the distribution of the product output to the market. An economist is also vital in handling the exchange
of goods and trade of the product. An economist will also help suggest an effective policy which will help
mitigate the economic problems such as rice shortage that affects the food security in the Philippines. In
the study of Laiprakobsub (2019), the economic factors that affects the rice production in the Philippines
and to the other countries of Southeast Asia is by adjusting their economic system by making their
liberalizing their system and their trade and pursued market reforms. But this was not successful
because this does not help the agricultural sector because of budget allocated to the agriculture.

Legal Management is also needed in order to further understand and find solution to the problem. Law
making and law reforms which will help the agricultural sector. The laws implemented will be the basis
of all the policy that will be made by the politicians. In the study of Mendoza and Torres (2019), in their
paper they talk about the implication of newly passed Rice Tarrification Law. They imply that good
governance is needed in order for the newly passed law to be effective. Mendoza and Torres (2019),
also pointed out that in R.A 11203, a Php 10 billion was allocated to the farmers in order to compensate
for the importation to mitigate our rice shortage and use this budget to buy all the needed materials and
machineries. They also point out that R.A 11203 does not have farmer participation when it comes to
managing the allocation of the said budget provided by the R.A 11203.

Political Science will help in terms of managing and implementing the laws by making policies which is
applicable to the problem presented. The political science will have to look at all the disciplines and not
just focus on one aspect because governing and implementing the laws and policies does not just look at
one aspect, but it looks at different lenses in order for an effective government. Mendoza and Torres
(2019) imply that in order for the Rice Tariffication to be successful, a good governance is needed. In
order for it to be successful, the Rice Industry Roadmap identified which provinces has the most
competitive rice production in order to assist in giving support and budget in order to increase their
production. Mendoza and Torres (2019) also pointed out the mismanagement and allegation of
corruption in NFA in handling rice stocks which in result the rice prices spiked. In order for it to be a
good governance, it should look at different lenses in order for the implementation to be effective.

Sociology will try to explain the relations of the variables to each other and how it will affect each other.
In the research, Sociology will try to explain the effects of the Rice Tariffication Law to farmers,
consumers, and labor group. With this law, it is expected that the price of rice will be affordable to the
consumers especially to the poor. The tariff collected will be used to assist the farmers which will help
our agricultural sector. According to Briones et al. (2019), the rice tariffication will benefit the poor
because of the low price of rice. This will help lower the hunger incidence in our country because the
rice would be affordable to all. The laborers will also benefit from this because they would have more
income since the price of rice is lower and most of the income goes to the food. The said law would be
beneficial to the farmers since R.A 11203 would give a Php 10 billion compensation to the farmers in
order to improve the rice production in our country so that we would have a chance to compete with
the rice imports.

History will help us understand what happened in the past why we conclude on laws, policies, and
implementation that is happening right now. According to Davidson (2016), rice importation has started
after the events of World War 2. Philippines was greatly devasted by the effects and rice production
worsened because of the effects of the war. The US provided millions of dollars as an aid to repair the
war damages. Also, in the 1950s. lack of funds and political will to improve the agriculture sector why we
still have low production of rice. The issue of manipulation of Chinese traders in the price of food.
Sharecropping, outbreaks of pest and plant disease are also part of the issue why the production
becomes low. To mitigate this issue, in 1960s the Philippine Congress passed the Rice and Corn
Nationalization Act or R.A 3018. The said law was the solution in order for the Chinese traders to lose
control to the price control of foods in the country. But the implementation was messy because the
Chinese traders evaded the law by setting up “dummy” Filipino owners or naming the business after
their Filipino wives or offspring. Ferdinand Marcos contributed to the rice production by implementing
programs and policies to produce more production. Marcos also invested in rice advancement
technologies which will help us along the way, at some time, we became rice self-sufficient. But
corruption during the Marcos era become rampant which affects not just the agriculture sector, but also
the economy. After the dictatorship of Marcos era, the preceding presidents seems to ignore the
agricultural sector which leaves us behind from our neighboring country.
GUIDELINE

In the Section 17 of the R.A 11203, it is ordered that the government agencies such as National
Economic and Development Authority, Department of Agriculture, Department of Budget and
Management and other government agencies that concerned with this law to make an implementing
rules and regulation for the said law.

In the Implementing Rules and Regulation of R.A 11203 Article 3, it is said that the power of National
Food Authority to oversee and manage the rice importation will be repealed. The new power of NFA is
to buy rice from local farmers and stock them in times of need. In Article 4 of the Implementing Rules
and Regulation, rice imports should issue a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance in order for the
rice import to be approved.

According to Mendoza and Torres (2019), the rice tariffication law, if well implemented would benefit
the consumers. The lowering of price because of rice imports would help the Filipinos to boost their
incomes. They suggested that good governance is the key in order for the said law to be effective.

But according to Galero, So, and Tiongco (2014), in order to achieve rice self-sufficiency, we have to give
to give importance to the agricultural sector in order for the production of the agricultural products to
grow. Galero et al. (2014) pointed out that in the 1990 to 2012 data from DBM, the expenditure of the
government to other sector rise but the agricultural sector remains stagnant throughout the years. They
suggested that the government should start to sustain and increase investment to the agricultural sector
especially in the research and development, infrastructures, and smallholder productivity.

In the study of Clarete (2015), Philippine government during the Aquino administration made a plan in
rice self-sufficiency. In order to attain the goal set, the rice production should be equivalent to the rice
consumption. The government allocated PhP 141.98 billion in order for the plan to take action. 60% of
the budget would go to the irrigation with the help of National Irrigation Administration. The budget
would go to the establishment of new small scale irrigation project, diversion dams, and shallow tube
wells. The agency would also renovate and rehabilitate the present irrigation system. Both the National
Irrigation Administration and Bureau of Soils and Water Management will implement programs that
aimed at improving the rice production with a better water source as well as research development and
technologies needed for rice production. The plan also set to shift and find alternative to rice. The plan
alternative to rice would be white corn. But due to the lack of production of white corn, this plan seems
impossible. Corn producers such as the province of Cebu and Western Mindanao resorted to rice
production. The plan is expected to deliver 6.96 million tons of palay equivalent to 4.524 million tons of
rice.
Clarete (2015) also pointed out the possible pitfalls of the program. The likelihood of success of the
program seems questionable knowing that there are many calamities that affects the Philippines.
Typhoons, severe rainfall, and the El Niño phenomenon are the calamities which affects the Philippines.
Governance is also an issue since there are many issues of graft and corruption in some of the
government agencies.

The theory we can imply to the rice tariffication bill is the theory Neoliberalism. Neoliberalism is a social
market theory that opts for minimal government intervention in matters of the market such as pricing
and regulation of supply in order to ensure entrepreneurial freedom which generates more income
money for the state to function. The role of the government therefore is to manage or create, if none
are present, the necessary facilities as avenues for securing private property ( David Harvey, 2005, as
cited by Thorsen and Lie, 2009)

R.A 11203 Section 17 states that the following government agencies such as NEDA, DBM, DA, and other
relating government agencies in the implementation should make a rules and regulation to oversee the
said law. There is a deregulation of some government agencies according to the Article 3 of the Rules
and Implementation of R.A 11203. The NFA will lose its power to oversee the importation and
distribution of rice. According to Mendoza and Torres (2019) the R.A 11203 would be effective if there
would be a good governance in the newly implemented law. But Galero et al. (2014) stated that in order
for us to reach rice self-sufficiency, the Philippines government should give importance to the
agricultural sector. Clarete (2015) stated the pitfalls of the rice self sufficiency of the Aquino
administration. The theory of neoliberalism can be seen in the political aspect of the study since the Rice
Tariffication Law promotes free trade among other countries and the government has little intervention
to it (David Harvey, 2005, as cited by Thorsen and Lie, 2006)
References:

 Clarete, R. L. (2015). Philippine Rice Self Sufficiency Program: Pitfalls and Remedies. Retrieved
from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128003473000194

 Mendoza, R., & Torres, A. (2019). Rice Tariffication, Good Governance, and Real Food Security.
Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3348966.

 Galero, S., So, S., & Tiongco, M. (2014). Food Security versus Rice Self-Sufficiency: Policy Lessons
from the Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.dlsu.edu.ph/wp-
content/uploads/2018/08/FNH-II-011.pdf.

 Thorsen, D. E., & Lie, A. (2006). What is neoliberalism. Oslo, University of Oslo, Department of
Political Science, Manuscript, 1-21. Retrieved from http://folk.uio.no/daget/neoliberalism.pdf
2.3

A single discipline will not be able to comprehensively study the problem as there are numerous factors
that should be evaluated and considered. The implementation of the Rice tariffication law might have
potential in affecting the state of the agricultural sector of the Philippines but there are other areas that
need to be observed as to see if the implemented law is deemed as efficient in the food self-sufficiency
of the Philippines.

In 2001, the International Fund for Agricultural Development declared that rice has been the most staple
food especially in Asia, which is a continent that consists of an estimated amount of 700 million laborers
that obtain wages that are not even greater than a dollar. Philippines is one these countries and its
agricultural workers will be greatly affected if the policies coming from the rice tariffication law will not
have a beneficial effect.

On the study of Normalyn Yap (n.d), rice prices have been increasing ever since the end of the 1986 up
until the present day. Though there are present similarities between the prices of rice in Thailand and
the Philippines, prices in the Philippines remain relatively higher. The country was even recognized by
the Department of Agriculture in the United States as the country that had the highest extent of
importation in 2007. Relating it to the current administration’s implementation, it might lead to an influx
of foreign imports which could lessen the effects of inflation or decrease the availability of labor.