Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero urged the government to tap the P30-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) to help farmers cope with El Niño and rising fuel costs. He said the fund could support productivity, resiliency, and food security measures beyond short-term aid.
Escudero made the suggestion as the Department of Agriculture (DA) started rolling out the P10-billion Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk Program, which provides P2,325 each to more than 4.17 million farmers and fisherfolk nationwide.
Escudero said the P30-billion amount under RCEF, which was created under Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, could be redirected to interventions that “most effectively promote farmers’ productivity, supply resiliency and address food security emergency situations on rice due to supply shortage or extraordinary increase in prices.”
He said this fund can also be mobilized for expanded financial assistance, rice credit, and irrigation projects.
He said government interventions in this time of compounded crisis must be forward-looking, in light of El Niño’s looming dry spell and global fuel shocks from Middle East tensions.
According to the DA, the P2,325 cash aid—though modest and primarily designed as short-term relief—will serve as a lifeline against soaring fuel costs, with initial payouts already underway in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula.
Agriculture officials said they are also bracing for a moderate to strong El Niño later this year, with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Agency (PAGASA) raising the likelihood of development to 79 percent by June. (Hannah Torregoza)
