PINURI ni Finance Sec. Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez si Senator Cynthia A. Villar sa Rice Tarification Law na kanyang inakda at inisponsor, na kabilang sa ‘accomplishments’ ng pamahalaan sa economic development sa ilalim ng administrasyon ni President Rodrigo Duterte.

Kinilala ang RTL ni Villar sa ginanap na economic briefing na pinangunahan ni Dominguez tungkol sa mga nagawa ng gobyerno sa nakalipas na anim na taon.

Nagpapasalamat si Villar, chairperson ng Senate committee on food and agriculture, sa appreciation at recognition na ipinagkaloob ni Dominguez noong April 5, 2022.

Sa kanyang presentation paper na may pamagat na “The Ship of State Has Been Masterfully Steered,” inilatag ni Dominguez, pinuno ng Economic Development Cluster (EDC), ang major achievements ng Duterte administration sa pagpapalawak sa ekonomiya.

Isa sa mga itinampok na batad ang game changing RTL at ang positibo nitong epekto sa sektor ng agrikultura ng Pilipinas.

Inaprubahan noong 2019 ang RA 11203 o “Rice Tariffication Law” na ang pangunahing may akda ay si Villar.

Simula roon, naging malaking tulong ang batas para mapabuti ang kondisyon ng pamumuhay ng mga Pilipinong magsasaka.

“The law opened up the rice market, imposed tariff on imported rice, created the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund and lowered the price of the commodity in the market for the benefit of the general population.”

Simula nang ipatupad ang batas, kumita na rin ang pamahalaan ng P46.6 billion sa rice import tariffs. Direktang nabiyayaan nito ang ating rice farmers na nagkaroon ng credit access, high-quality inbred rice seeds, extension at training at farm mechanization para tulungang sila sa produksyon at mapalakad ang kanilang competitiveness.

“The RTL was finally achieved after more than 30 years of failed attempts under previous administrations. The law opened up the Philippine rice market and in turn, lowered the price of the country’s staple food for more than 100 million Filipinos,” giit ni Dominguez.

Sinabi rin niya na isang “landmark law” ang RTL na binabago ang dating “dysfunctional rice policy.”

“Rice is no longer the main contributor to our overall inflation rate. The RTL ensures that farmers benefit directly by providing at least P10 billion each year and gives the consumers a wider variety of rice choices now,” ayon kay Dominquez.

Kabilang rin sa mga kinilalang batas ang RA 11032 or The Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, Philippine Identification System Act (RA 11055), at Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN Law) o RA10963.

“The TRAIN Law, together with the other tax packages under the tax reform program of the government, has raised a little over half a trillion pesos in additional revenues during the first four years of its implementation,” ani Dominquez.

Sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang administrasyon, iginiit ni Dominquez na “tax collection efficiency has improved to 16.1 percent of GDP in 2019 from 15.1 percent in 2015, the highest achievement in over two decades. ”

“The government has collected an average of P68.7 billion annually from the various GOCCs, which is more than twice the average annual collection of the previous government. The robust revenue growth has enabled the country to sustain the funding of our ambitious “Build, Build, Build Program,” which will be an enduring legacy of the Duterte administration.

The government’s infrastructure spending of over 5% of our GDP has more than doubled the expenditures incurred by the last four administrations,” paliwanag pa niya.

Sa kabila ng epekto ng pandemiya, malaki ang naiambag ng “hard-won reforms” para paigtingin ang ating recovery at rebuilding efforts tungo sa malakas na economic resurgence ag inclusive growth.

“The next administration will inherit many hard-won reforms and will enter the office with the basic groundwork for rapid growth already in place,” dagdag pa ni Dominguez. (ESTONG REYES)