“Isn’t it ironic that farmers are the one feeding the nation yet they cannot feed themselves?” 

The Philippines is an agricultural country with a land area of 30 million hectares, where 47% of which is agricultural land. The Philippine’s agriculture sector is made up of 4 sub-sectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry. Most Filipino citizens’ still resides in rural areas and support themselves through agriculture. 

In 2017, the Duterte Administration did not renew the waiver that allowed import restrictions when it expired. Signed by President Duterte on February 14, 2019, the law amends the two-decade-old Agricultural Tariffication Act of 1996 and replaces the quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports with tariff. The fuller importation of rice from other countries resulted in the plunging prices of our local rice, benefiting us consumers but affects the livelihood of our own Filipino farmers. Without the restrictions on rice imports, foreign businesses have imported cheaper rice, competing with the local rice production, stripped the farmers of P95 billion in income due to the arrival of many cheaper rice. 

Consequences of the Law:

Every single day that passes where this law is not yet amended will result to the continued struggle of local rice farmers leading to a decline in agricultural output growth, lower volume of palay production, the closure of local rice buy and sell stalls due to the fact that these do not gain anymore from the business, it will be harder for rice farmers to gain profits, the price of their products per kilo continue to drop and a place to sell their products are harder to find, and since our country is a heavily dependent on agriculture, it will lead to an agricultural decline.

STATISTICS OF THE CROP PRODUCTION

January-March 2019 Statistics: Crops which accounted for 52.71 percent of the total agricultural output contracted by 1.01 percent.  Palay and corn production declined by 4.46 percent and 2.07 percent, respectively.  At current prices, the gross value of crop production at PhP 235.4 billion was down by 6.41 percent this period. ("Performance of Philippine Agriculture, January-March 2019", 2019)

April-June 2019 Statistics: Crops registered a 5.70 percent drop in production. It contributed 47.42 percent to the total agricultural output. Palay and corn recorded decreases in production by 5.82 percent and 8.73 percent, respectively. At current prices, the value of crop production amounted to PhP 215.5 billion or 11.09 percent lower this period. From January to June 2019, a 3.16 percent reduction in crops production was recorded. ("Performance of Philippine Agriculture, April-June 2019", 2019)

Philosophical View:

Farmers are part of the Agricultural Societies and their livelihood is primarily in agricultural, specifically farming. Because of the implemented law on Rice Tariffication, the farmers are the one who is affected the most making them suffer. The problem both falls under physical and mental suffering, the farmers felt pain, hunger and discomfort due to too much labor, they’re also experiencing fear. This is caused by unexpected change in the market price of rice changing their lifestyle and rate of labor.

The idea of Liberalism which influenced the development of political ideologies can be perceived in the Rice Tarrification law, this indicates that the settlement of Duterte’s Administration on rice imports upholds the preservation of individual rights but still stresses the role of the government. Though it is a great advantage for the consumers, the idea of the law contrasts the concept of freedom because it infringed the freedom of the Filipino farmers from oppression, compulsion or coercion.

The Law can be considered as Alienation wherein the condition of the farmers in the agricultural economy results to a lack of identity with the products of their labor and being controlled or exploited. The Philippine Government seems to consider farmers as a mere object specifically a machine the produces rice, not recognizing their hard work and using them without acknowledging that they are the one feeding the whole country

Enterprising solution/s : 

1. Urge our local government units to buy from locally. This will help ensure a stable income for Filipino farmers, and receive constant demand for their products with reasonable prices selling from the local markets.

2. Encourage more citizens to buy locally produced rice instead of imported rice. To help our rice farmers, We, citizens can also opt to buy rice locally instead of supporting and getting imported brands of rice. Local rice should always be our priority not the imported ones. 

3.  We can join programs or volunteer in an organization groups that mainly focuses on helping local Filipino rice farmers. Also we can help them advertise their products and encourage Filipino Netizens to prioritize or local goods.

4. Share information about local farmers. In today's generation, the internet is an accessible source and we are open in social media and internet community, we take this opportunity to share and spread awareness regarding this issue to help and support our local Filipino rice farmers.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION OF THE PETITION:

The country is currently experiencing agricultural crisis due to recent disasters such as typhoon, flood, el nino etc. resulting the short production of rice affecting the production of agricultural products which is a huge problem for the economy and especially for Filipino farmers' livelihood. The scarce of local rice lead to its steep price, causing for people to purchase imported rice with lower cost. The government's response to the crisis is the recent imposed a law, the Rice Tariffication Law. The law allows the private sectors to import rice from foreign suppliers inducing the total fall of the demand of local rice leaving its price to php7.00 per kg. Transaction of foreign rice continues up to this day and leaving our farmers in poor state. Overall, it may be said that the government might made an action about the over-priced local rice but the law did not really end up well for all. Up until now, our Filipino farmers are suffering because of their php7.00 per kg profit that will not probably be enough for their families. The government should reconsider and amend the law considering the our farmers for they are the heart of the agricultural economy of the Philippines.