By LIA MERCADO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – A day before the International Women’s Day, a women farmers group assailed the highest rice inflation rate in the country, which reached about 3.4 percent last month.
“There is no one to blame for the highest inflation rate but Marcos. All these big traders, cartels, hoarders, smugglers, and others have long been there,” said Cathy Estavillo, Amihan secretary general and spokesperson of consumer group Bantay Bigas.
Last month, the country saw a worrying leap in the year-on-year headline inflation to 3.4 percent, up from 2.8 percent in January, primarily due to a spike in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices as government data show that it rose to 4.6 percent from 3.5 percent.
Rice, a staple food item, saw its inflation rate jump to an alarming 23.7 percent from 22.6 percent.
“As of now, even the cheapest P55 per kilo is not affordable and there is no concrete solution being offered to resolve it,” said Estavillo.
Meanwhile, research group Ibon Foundation said the Marcos Jr. administration “should rescind its rice liberalization law that has only led to higher rice prices.”
The situation appeared even more dire for the country’s poorest, with the bottom 30 percent of households experiencing an inflation rate acceleration to 4.2 percent in February from 3.6 percent in January. This increase was also driven by heightened inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages, reaching 6.4 percent from 5.2 percent.
Ibon noted that “rice was also behind this and much higher for the poorest households, rising to 26.3 percent from 24.8 percent.”
Enacted in February 2019, Ibon said the Rice Tariffication Law was a critical factor contributing to the continuous rise in rice prices. The group contradicted government claims of the law’s potential to lower rice costs.
The group stated, “rice prices soared, with the cost of regular milled rice increasing from P43/kilo in February 2019 to P50/kilo in February 2024, and well-milled from P47/kilo to P56/kilo.”
The research group asserted that the Marcos administration’s strategies to mitigate rice and food price increases have clearly failed. It also urged the government to reconsider its approach to rice import liberalization and propose more effective measures.
“More effective measures need to be implemented, such as stopping rice import liberalization, giving substantial support to producers, and increasing the purchasing power of poor households through wage hikes and direct assistance.” (JJE, RVO) 
