Philippines : FFF slams DA delay on rice import safeguard duties
The Federation of Free Farmers criticized the Department of Agriculture for delaying a decision on safeguard duties for rice imports. Farmers argue rising imports, which reached 3.39 million tonnes in 2025, have depressed paddy prices and harmed local producers, prompting calls for stronger import protection measures.
The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) on Monday, June 15, denounced the “delay” in the resolution of its long-standing petition for safeguard duties on rice imports.
Describing the delay as “inordinate,” the FFF said that “for about nine months now, rice producers have been expecting the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) decision on our petition.”
It asked: “Will the safeguard protection guaranteed by law turn out to be a ‘ghost’ safety net?”
On Sept. 29 last year, citing Republic Act No. 8800, or the Safeguard Measures Act, FFF National Manager Raul Montemayor and Magsasaka Partylist Chairman Argel Joseph Cabatbat filed a petition with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel.
The petition called for the imposition of additional customs duties, citing the surge in rice imports, especially last year, which led to a severe drop in palay prices.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), rice prices fell to an average of as low as P15.60 a kilo in September 2015, with the lowest regional average recorded in Calabarzon at P12.70 a kilo.
Rice imports for 2025 reached 3.39 million metric tons, data from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) showed, with Vietnam identified as the leading source at 2.76 million metric tons.
As of May, the Philippines had already imported 2.22 million metric tons of rice, 18% higher than the 1.93 million metric tons imported in the same period last year.
Montemayor said their petition was “accepted” by Tiu-Laurel almost six months later, on March 19, after they had been required to make several detailed revisions and technical changes to their original submission.
Since then, he said the case has remained pending despite clear provisions in RA 8800 requiring the DA secretary to decide on the issue within 30 days of acceptance, either by dismissing it or endorsing it to the Tariff Commission for final resolution.
The reglementary period lapsed on April 18, the FFF said.
Montemayor said “safeguard measures provide a critical, time-sensitive shield for our farmers against excessive imports after trade liberalization of our rice industry” through RA 11203, or the Rice Tariffication Law, which was enacted in 2019.
“But, so far, the DA has refused to utilize a remedy that is readily available under RA 8800 and the rules of the World Trade Organization,” he said.
By comparison, Montemayor said, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has been proactive in assisting cement and other industrial sectors and acting immediately on their petitions for safeguard duties.
“While the DTI has moved promptly to protect manufacturing companies and workers threatened by import surges, the DA appears lackadaisical in addressing the plight of millions of small farmers who have suffered from the deluge of rice imports,” Montemayor said.
He said that while the DA has repeatedly claimed that imports are a last resort in addressing local supply gaps and rice price spikes, “it has effectively allowed the private sector to import unlimited volumes at low tariffs and balked at imposing safeguard duties even when imports have become excessive and seriously harmful to farmers.”
The Inquirer reached out to the DA for comment but has yet to receive a response from its spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa.
The FFF said it is considering administrative and other remedies to compel the DA to follow the timelines in addressing safeguard duty and other provisions of RA 8800.
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Source : Inquirer.net
