House agri chair seeks stricter watch on rice price manipulation

With the March-to-May rice harvest season approaching, House Agriculture Committee Chair Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga has called for intensified government monitoring to prevent unfairly low farmgate prices. Citing past instances of traders suppressing palay prices, he urged the National Food Authority (NFA) to buy at least 20% of local rice to stabilize rates. Enverga also pushed for real-time digital price tracking and strict enforcement of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act to curb profiteering. He reaffirmed the House Murang Pagkain Supercommittee’s commitment to long-term agricultural reforms.