The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) urged returning senator Francis Kiko Pangilinan to immediately push for the repeal of the Rice Liberalization Law (RLL or RA 11203), which has long burdened the country’s farmers. During the campaign period, Pangilinan introduced himself as a “farmer” and an advocate of food security.

KMP chairperson and Makabayan Coalition former senatorial candidate Danilo Ramos (Ka Daning) said the RLL’s repeal has long been needed. “It has failed both farmers and consumers. It allowed the influx of imported rice, dragged down the price of palay, and continuously eroded the local rice industry,” he said.

The peasant leader added that the law failed its promised benefits, such as lower rice retail prices and improved competition. Farmers reportedly continue to suffer losses while consumers continue to experience unstable and rising prices.

“More than six years since its enactment, RLL has clearly failed in delivering on its promises,” he said. He emphasized, “the rice crisis has worsened since the Rice Liberalization’s implementation, and Senator Kiko knows this.”

Rice importation ballooned from 2 million metric tons in 2018 to nearly 4.8 million metric tons in 2024. This happened even as the number of importing companies fell from 217 to 154. Ten companies now control a total of 40% of imports. The Philippines is expected to remain the world’s top rice importer until 2026.

The RLL has intensified the Philippines’ dependence on imported rice. The import ratio rose from 14% in 2018 to 23% in 2022. At the same time, 6,000 rice mills closed in 2019 alone, the year the RLL was enacted.

The RLL was authored by the comprador bourgeois and bureaucrat capitalist Senator Cynthia Villar, signed by Rodrigo Duterte, and continued by Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s regime.