Receipts

The RICE Act proposes to keep rice affordable by setting a minimum nine‑day national stock, letting the agriculture department inspect warehouses and seize hoarded rice, requiring registration of rice‑related businesses, allowing emergency imports, and giving the department power to set minimum farm‑gate (palay) prices, with penalties for non‑compliance.

The proposed Rice Industry and Consumer Empowerment (RICE) Act would lower the required rice buffer stock to nine days, let the agriculture department inspect warehouses and seize hoarded rice, allow emergency rice imports, set floor prices for palay, and impose fines or jail for violations.

The bill would give the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority more power to monitor rice warehouses, set minimum farm‑gate prices, seize hoarded rice, and manage the government’s rice reserve, aiming to keep rice affordable and protect farmers.

The proposal restores the National Food Authority’s powers to inspect grain warehouses, seize hoarded rice, register and license rice‑related businesses, and to sell up to 25 % of its rice buffer each month while buying rice only from registered local farmers; it also lets the Department of Agriculture set a minimum price for palay and bans local governments from buying imported rice.

The Anti‑Rice Wastage Act would force restaurants, canteens, hospitals and similar businesses to offer a half‑cup of rice at a separate price, and would fine or shut down those that charge the same price as a full cup.

The bill would let DSWD use 4Ps rice‑subsidy money to buy rice from Filipino farmers and give that rice to poor families instead of cash.