Bangsamoro Parliament urges PBBM to impose zero tariff in Tawi-Tawi rice imports

MindaNews / 01 February — The Bangsamoro Parliament has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to allow traders in Tawi-Tawi to directly import rice from Malaysia tax free to arrest the high prices of the staple in the island-province, which is closer to the State of Sabah than the mainland Philippine city of Zamboanga.

Also known as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim body tasked to govern the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM, the Bangsamoro Parliament adopted the special and time-bound measure last January 20.

The body approved the resolution a week after it was proposed by Members of Parliament from the island-provinces – John Anthony Lim, Jose Lorena and Nabil Tan, all lawyers.

The Bangsamoro Parliament has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to allow traders in Tawi-Tawi to directly import rice from Malaysia tax free to arrest the high prices of the staple in the island-province, which is closer to the State of Sabah than the mainland Philippine city of Zamboanga. MindaNews file photo.

MindaNews file photoThe authors stated that the people of Tawi-Tawi have been dependent on rice supplies sourced from Zamboanga City and other distant domestic ports, where high shipping, fuel, handling and logistics costs significantly increase the landed price of rice in the island-province.

“The resulting high cost of rice has placed a serious burden on households in Tawi-Tawi, particularly affecting low-income families and vulnerable sectors, thereby aggravating food insecurity and economic hardship,” the resolution said.

They stressed that Sabah, Malaysia is geographically nearer to Tawi-Tawi than mainland Philippine supply points, making it a more practical and cost-efficient source of rice if lawfully and properly authorized by the national government.

“Allowing the lawful, regulated and zero-tariff direct importation of rice from Sabah, strictly for the province of Tawi-Tawi and subject to national government oversight, would reduce logistics cost, stabilize rice supply, and significantly lower prices without the need for costly transshipment through distant (Philippine) ports,” according to the resolution.

The measure is intended as a special, time-bound, and humanitarian intervention to address food security concerns in a geographically disadvantaged area, and does not recognize, condone, or legitimize any informal or unauthorized trade, it added.

Lorena, a deputy speaker of the Bangsamoro Parliament, said that a sack of rice now fetches a price of at least P2,000 in Tawi-Tawi, according to a report of the Oblates-owned DXMS Radyo Bida Cotabato City.

“We feel that the time has come for this parliament to bring to the attention of the President the need to address the specific concern in Tawi-Tawi,” he said.

Last November, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order (EO) 105 imposing at least a 15 percent tariff on rice imports. The rate shall be increased by five percentage points per five percent decrease in international rice prices; or decreased by five percentage points per five percent increase in international rice prices. The tariff shall not be over 35 percent. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)