By By Tiffany Xu
A region-wide forum led by the Panay Network for Rice Sufficiency (PNRS) garnered a crowd of 200 strong last Oct. 21, at Jubilee Hall, St. Clements Church, Iloilo, to discuss the most pressing issues in the agriculture sector.
Central to the discussion were the low farmgate prices of rice, unregulated importation, and allocation towards anomalous agrarian programs. Panelists comprised speakers from Paghugpong sang mga Mangunguma sa Panay kag Guimaras (PAMANGGAS), Magsasaka at Siyentipiko (MASIPAG) Visayas, and Kahublagan Kontra Korapsyon (KKK). Whereas, the event was attended by farmers, consumers, local government officials, and youth across Antique, Capiz, and Iloilo.
Onground farmers’ situation laid bare
PAMANGGAS leader Lucia Capaducio opens the forum with data on production costs vis-à-vis current retail prices on rice.
Fresh palay in Iloilo dropped to an all-time low at P8/kg. But to produce one kilo of palay, P12.91 to P16.99 is needed. Overall, their research shows that the loss experienced by farmers in one cropping season reaches P31,662 at most.
She links the passage of the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL) as the prime reason for the disproportionately cheap palay and expensive milled rice in the country.
RLL was said to cause the loss of NFA’s mandates. It was only able to purchase 2.8% worth of the 388.2 million sacks produced locally this 2025.
NFA-Iloilo branch manager Dr. Glenda Paz affirmed that pre-RLL, the agency used to have ‘police power’ in stabilizing prices and distributing cheaper rice. “Ang [RLL], amo ni siya ang nagdula sa amon functions,” Paz said.
Forum calls out ghost agrarian programs
KKK Convenor Raoul Manuel exposed the dubious farm-to-market projects costing P30-million to P100-million for less than one kilometer of road construction.
P293-million worth of cash aid under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program was also linked to approximately 6 million identified to be dead or non-farmers.
Manuel says that ‘ghost’ and other corrupt projects could have been used to benefit millions of farmers. “Sa P200-billion nga ginkurakot [kung halin sa 40% kickback sang flood control projects], nakabakal na tani si NFA one-third sang total production sang mangunguma,” he explained.
RIDA, posed to counter RLL
Last 19th Congress, House Bill 405, or the Rice Industry Development Act (RIDA), was proposed as an alternative to the agricultural woes of the country.
According to MASIPAG-Visayas coordinator Kervin Bonganciso, RIDA is a ‘structural investment to transform the rice industry within three years’. Its salient points include ending importation, restoring NFA’s mandates, lowering farm production costs, and setting a ceiling price for palay.
National Peasant Day commemorated in Panay areas
After the forum, a unity statement was formalized by the attendees and network organizations of PNRS. The statement reiterates the need for junking RLL, increasing the budget towards local food production instead of corruption, and reinstating NFA’s procurement and regulatory functions through RIDA. Participants then persisted through the heavy rain as they marched from the venue to the Iloilo Provincial Capitol in registration of their urgent demands.
October 21 is marked as National Peasants Day, as celebrated by several regions in the Philippines. In Aklan, a similar picket protest was conducted. While in Roxas City, Capiz, progressive groups conducted discussions and flyering activities./PT
