Congressmen urge reforms to rice industry

OPPOSITION congressmen on Tuesday criticized President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.'s executive orders (EO) aimed at supporting rice farmers, calling them shortsighted and urging broader reforms to strengthen the country’s agriculture and food sector.

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The Marcos administration’s EO No. 100 and No. 101 lack teeth and fall short of empowering the government to meaningfully support the rice industry, Deputy Minority Leader and Party-list Rep. Antonio L. Tinio said.

“[They are] nothing but empty rhetoric that fails to address the root cause of our agricultural crisis,” he told a news briefing in Filipino.

EO No. 100 will set a yet-to-be-determined regional floor price for unmilled rice, while EO No. 101 directs all government agencies, state universities and local governments to buy food directly from accredited farm and fisherfolk cooperatives.