Secretary Manny Piñol gathered top officials from the Central and Regional offices of the Department of Agriculture in preparation for the upcoming implementation of Republic Act 11203 also known as “An Act liberalizing the importation, exportation, and trading of rice, lifting for the purpose the quantitative import restriction on rice.”

R.A. 11203 was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on February 14, 2019. The law allows for the free trade of rice and removes quantitative import restrictions while imposing a tariff on rice product imports.

“We will support the directives of the President while being mindful of the needs and concerns of the stakeholders.” Piñol said during the conference.

A series of stakeholder consultations is scheduled to be conducted in the coming weeks in Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Iloilo and Davao for the drafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulation. ### (Carlos Cezar Baldosa, DA-AFID)