It’s geography stupid

By Alex P. Vidal  

“All the food we eat-every grain of rice and kernel of corn-has been genetically modified. None of it was here before mankind learned to cultivate crops. The question isn’t whether our food has been modified, but how.” – Michael Specter

WHY only 60 days and not six months or one year and so on and so forth?

We are referring to the order of Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to suspend the rice importation for 60 days effective September 1, 2025 “to protect local farmers reeling from low palay prices during this current harvest season.”

Mr. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 62 last year, lowering the imported rice tariff from 35 to 15 percent until 2028 to tame rising prices of the commodity.

And why not suspend it permanently? The answer is, of course, it’s impossible.

Even if the president wants to, he can’t do it. Rice importation is the Pinoys’ national survival; the truth of the matter is we can’t produce enough of our staple food to feed ourselves.

On our own, Pinoy rice farmers can’t produce enough rice to meet domestic demand. It’s not because of politics or we are lazy; it’s not purely because of so-called trade liberalization.

Why? It’s geography stupid.

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Unlike those of Vietnam and Thailand, we are a nation of islands without any major river deltas. Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia are the only major traditional exporters, and they are all on the Southeast Asian mainland.

Philippines is consistently among the leading rice importers for more than 100 years together with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia.

The main reason is these countries are all islands or narrow peninsulas.

Trade liberalization is a term that is used widely today, according to Agrifood Economics, although it is often not properly understood. “Trade liberalization does not necessarily mean more imports for all commodities in all situations,” Agrifood Economics explained.

“What it does mean is that the price for a specific commodity inside the country (the domestic price) becomes the same as the price for that same commodity outside the country (the world price), after taking account of the exchange rate and any necessary transportation costs.”

Among the hindrances that contribute to the problem are reportedly government policies and a lack of investment in the agricultural sector.

It is widely believed that cheap imports, particularly from countries like Vietnam and Thailand, could also depress local prices making it difficult for Pinoy farmers to compete.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the average farm-gate price of palay in June declined by almost 32 percent year-on-year to P16.99 per kilo from P24.93 per kilo.

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“It’s been archived” means the Filipinos should move one with their lives and wait until February 2026 just in case the House of Representatives will muster enough strength and courage to refile the impeachment complaint against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.

“Archived”—although difficult for many Filipinos to accept—is better than “dismissed.”

In dismissal, everything is gone. All the sacrifices, time, efforts, money spent by those agitating to hold the vice president accountable for allegedly committing a malfeasance in the use of her confidential funds that reached to a mind-boggling proportion, would be put to waste.

“Archived” could be the safer harbor to dock in order not to further hurt those who have been expecting a “bloodbath” in the aborted impeachment trial where the senators would have acted as judges.

Respected Ilonggo lawyer Romeo Gerochi wrote in his social media account: “The impeachment complaint is just an archive, that’s why it’s still a pending case. So, the one-year ban hasn’t started running yet. If they will present a new impeachment complaint, it is not allowed because there is still pending. You’ve been auto minorities.”

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)