THE House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on its third and final reading the revised agricultural tariffication bill seeking to replace quantitative restrictions (QRs) on imported rice with tariffs or taxes.
With 201 House members voting in the affirmative, seven in the negative and one abstaining, the lower House approved on final reading House Bill 7735.
It was approved on second reading last Aug. 7.
The lower chamber has fast-tracked the proposed measure after President Rodrigo Duterte certified its passage as urgent during his third State of the Nation Address last July 23.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol also backed the bill, saying it would stabilize rice prices and would make farmers “very competitive” if the tariff would be invested in local farms.