Republic Act No. 12078 An Act Amending Republic Act No. 8178 Or The “Agricultural Tariffication Act”, As Amended By Republic Act No. 11203

(a) Require the registration and maintain a Reduction and Management Council, and LGUs; and national database of all grain warehouses storage facilities, silos, and controlled-temperat~ire cold (2) The public through KADIW A outlets; storages:

(b) Replenish the used NFA rice buffer stock (b) Conduct rE:gular inspection of grain with locally produced rice from farmers or farmers warehouses and agricultural facilities to ensure cooperatives and associations; or compliance with palay and rice quality and supply standards and regulations; and (c) Import rice when the available supply of locally produced rice is inadequate. The DA Secretary

(c) Collect and analyze data on rice trade is authorized to designate the importing entity within activities, in cooperation with the Philippine Statistics the DA, with the exception of the NF A: Provided, Aut~ority (PSA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the That the designated importing entity shall import National Food Authority (NFA). and other rice at the least cost available among government- government agencies for informed policy and to-government options, which shall include direct operational decisions. contracts between the Philippine government and a foreign government, including instrumentalities and The DA-BPI shall exercise the aforementioned State-owned enterprises of such foreign government. powers in addition to its existing powers related to sanitary and phytosanitaiy and food safety standards. The DA shall maintain a buffer fund for food security emergencies on rice. For this purpose, the Upon the. request of the DA-BPI, the local amount of Five billion pesos (P5,000,000,000.00) from gov_ernment ui:uts (LGUs), the Philippine National any current unutilized portion of the DA budget shall Police, the Na.t10nal Bmeau of Investigation, or other not revert to the National Treasury but shall instead law enforceme~t agen_cies s~all provide prompt be credited to the buffer fund: Provided, That any resp_onseand assistance 111 the implementation of this excess in the annual tariff collection from the section. importation of rice not exceeding Two billion pesos (P2,000,000,000.00) shall be credited to the buffer SEC. 6. Powers of the DA on Rice Price fund: Provided, further, That the proceeds of the sale Stabilization and Snpply Regnlation. - The DA under paragraph (a) of this section shall revert to Secretary, upon the recommendation of the National the DA buffer fund." Price Coor~inating Council (NPCC), shall declare a food security emergency on rice due to supply shortage or extraordinary increase in prices. 4 5 SEC. 3. Section 7 of Republic Act No. 8178, as amended In both cases, disposal through sale shall be by Republic Act No. 11203, is hereby further amended as through public auction." follows: SEC. 5. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 8178, as amended ·'SEC. 9. Powers of the President. - x x x by Republic Act No. 11203, is hereby further amended as follows: X X X "SEC. 16. Rice Competitiveness Enhancement (b) In the event of any imminent or forecasted Fund (RCEF). - There is hereby created a Rice shortage, or any other situation requiring Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which shall government intervention, the President is empowered be sourced from all tariffs collected from the for a limited period and/or a specified volume, to importation of rice. The RCEF. shall ~or:isist of an authorize the importation at a lower applied tariff annual appropriation of Thirty billion pesos rate to address the situation. Such order shall take (P30,000,000,000.00) until the year 2031, followmg effect immediately and can only be issued when the approval of this Act,_ and shall be Congress is not in session. automatically credited to a Special Account m the General Fund of the National Treasury which When there is an excessive supply of imported shall be established within ninety (90) days from or locally produced rice resulting in an extraordinary the effectivity of this Act. decrease in local rice prices, the President may suspend or prohibit further importation for a limited X X X period and/or a specified volume until both rice supply and prices stabilize: and The amount allocated shall be released directly to the implementing agencies as provided_ in _this Act (c) In case the calculated out-quota tariff rate based on the objectives and plans of the nee mdustry referred to under Section 8(c) of this Act exceeds one roadmap: Provided, That the unutili~ed portion of the hundred percent (100%), the provision of Paragraph RCEF allocated to the implementing agencies and 1, Section 1608(a) of the CMTA shall also not apply." collections from repayments by loan beneficiaries including interests, if any, shall not revert to the SEC. 4. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8178, as amended General Fund: Provided, further, That any excess by Republic Act No. 11203. is hereby further amended as in the annual tariff collection of Thirty billion pesos follows: (P30,000,000,000.00) shall be a~ded to the RCEF and allocated and disbmsed to the rmplementmg agencies '-SEC. 1 l. Maintenance and Disposal of Rice following the allocation provided in t!iis section: Buffer Stoel<. - The NFA shall, in accordance with Provided, finally, That if the annual tariff .collection rules, regulations, and procedures, maintain an from imported rice falls below Thirty billion pesos optimal rice buffer stock to be sourced exclusively (P30,000,000,000.00), the defici~ncy shall be sourced from local farmers. from the DA budget as provided 1z:i t~e General Appropriations Act, subject to the gmdelmes issued The NFA shall dispose of its rice buffer stock by the Department of Fmance (DOF). Fund releases one (1) month before the aging period starts, charged against the RCEF shall not be subJect to following the first in, first out method. any ceiling by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The aging process begins three (3) months from storage for rice and six (6) months from storage X X X for palay. 6 7 Subject to the usual accounting and auditing seed growers associations and/or cooperatives engaged rules and regulations, the RCEF shall be allocated in seed production and trade. and disbursed to rice-producing areas, as follows: (c) Other Priority Programs, Activities, and (a) Rice Fann Machineries and Equipment - Projects - Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, Nine billion pesos (P9,000,000,000.00) of the RCEF the President is hereby authorized to allocate the shall be released to and implemented by the amount of Fifteen billion pesos (P15,000,000,000.00) Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and to programs, activities, and projects that will most Mechanization (PHilMech) as grant in kind to eligible effectively promote farmers' productivity, supply farmers associations, registered rice cooperatives, and resiliency, and address food security emergency LGUs, according to their choice, in the form of rice situations on rice due to supply shortage or farm equipment, such as tillers, tractors, seeders, extraordinary increase in prices, in the following threshers, rice planters, harvesters, irrigation pumps, order of priority: small solar irrigation, reapers, dryers, millers, and postharvest and processing facilities such as (1) Rice training and extension· services warehouses, grain storage facilities, and drying provided by PHilMech, PhilRice, the Agricultural facilities: Provided, That the PHilMech shall procure Training Institute (ATI), and the Technical Education from accredited manufacturers and local machine and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); fabricators to spur the establishment of farm-level fabrication, repair, and maintenance of farm (2) Financial assistance to rice farmers tilling implements and equipment and to assist in the up to two (2) hectares of rice land which shall be promotion of locally manufactured farm machineries released to the DA-Office of the Secretary (DA-OSEC) and equipment and ensure their maximum for direct cash distribution to qualified farmers. The utilization: DA-OSEC shall devise a mechanism for the distribution of cash assistance which will ensure Provided, further, That Four hundred that all farmers tilling up to two (2) hectares of rice twenty-five million pesos (P425,000,000.00) of the land listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors allocation for rice farm machineries and equipment in Agriculture (RSBSA) shall directly receive the under this subparagraph shall be allotted for the cash assistance. The BOC is hereby mandated to promotion, establishment, support, and development directly remit the said funds to the DA; of Fabrication, Repair, and Maintenance Centers (FARM-Cs) of farm machinery, equipment, and tools, (3) Expanded Rice Credit Assistance which shall including grants to be given every year to at least be made available in the form of credit facility with two (2) FARM-Cs in each RCEF rice-producing minimal interest rates and with minimum collateral province. The PHilMech shall continuously collaborate requirements to rice farmers and cooperatives, to be with existing and emerging FARM-Cs nationwide. managed equally by the Land Bank of the For this purpose, FARM-Cs shall set up machine Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the shops and fabrication hubs in rnral areas which will Philippines (DBP). repair the existing agricultural equipment of farmers cooperatives, associations, and LGUs given under The credit assistance component of the RCEF the RCEF. shall operate as a revolving fund, with the principal and interest payments on loans made from the fund (b) Rice Seed Development, Propagation, and re-deposited into the fund and made available for Promotion - Six billion pesos (PG.000,000.000.00) of new loans to eligible beneficiaries, in accordance with the RCEF shall be released to and implemented by budgeting, accounting, auditing, and p'ertinent laws, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and rnles, and regulations; used for the development, propagation, distribution, and promotion of high quality inbred rice seeds to rice farmers and the organization of rice farmers into j 9 8 (4) Composting facilities for biodegradable SEC. 6. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 8178, as amended wastes which shall be used to address the by Republic Act No. 11203, is hereby further amended as micronutrient deficiencies in the soil; follows: (5) Pest and disease management; "SEC. 17. Beneficiaries of the RCEF. - The beneficiaries of the RCEF shall be those farmers and (6) Solar-powered water irrigation or water farmworkers listed in the RSBSA and rice impounding irrigation project; cooperatives and associations accredited by the DA. Within one hundred eighty (180) days from the (7) Soil health improvement; and effectivity of this Act and every year thereafter, the DA, in consultation with farmers' cooperatives and (8) Farming support pro~rams o~ the DA and organizations and LGUs, shall validate and update the National Irrigation Admimstrat10n (NIA) on the master list of eligible beneficiaries to ensure that contract farming program. those listed are legitimate farmers, farmworkers and rice cooperatives and associations. ' The BOC and the DA shall, at the end of each year, submit separate reports on the annual X X X." remittance and disbursement of funds to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian SEC. 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Reform and the House Committee on Agricultme and Act is declared unconstitutional, the remainder thereof not Food: Provided, That the amounts herein allocat~d otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect. shall be reviewed on the third year of the effectiv1ty of this Act for possible revisions should intervention SEC. 8. Repealing Clau.se. - All laws, presidential decrees, priorities change: Provided, _further, Th~t preferential executive orders, letters of instruction, proclamations. or attention should be g1ven to nee farmers, cooperatives, and associatior_i.sadv~rsely affect~d _by administrative regulations that are inconsistent with the the tariffication of the quant1tat1ve import restnct10n provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified on rice in accordance with the thrust and priorities accordingly. of Republic Act No. 8_435,. otherwise _known as the "Agriculture and F1shenes Modermzat1on Act SEC. 9. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) of 1997", as amended, and the Philippine Developmen~ days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper Plan (PDP). The increase or decrease of farmers of general circulation. incomes shall be the prin1ary benchmark m grantmg these interventions. Approved, The Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization (COCAFM) shall conduct a periodic review of the use of the RCEF. Speaker of the House President of the Senate The Philippine Institute for Developme~t Studies (PIDS) shall conduct an independent baseline studr, of Representatives as well as mid-term and end-term evaluation of this Act. which shall be submitted to the COCAFM." This Act, which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2779 and House Bill No. 10381, was passed by the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives on September 25, 2024. Secretary General House of Representatives Approved: DEC o 6 202~ FERDINAND ROMU DEZlvfARCOS JR. 1e PhilipJ/;nes 0 REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 111111111111111 IIIIHll 1 PBBM006739 Lw,c E: uf l!)e President MALACANANG RECORDS OFFICE