In a country where rice is more than food—where it is memory, culture, survival, and dignity—the battle against hunger is never abstract. It is fought daily at kitchen tables, in wet markets, on farms scorched by sun and flood alike. As the 20th Congress opens a new chapter in Philippine legislation, one message has emerged with striking clarity from former House Speaker Martin Romualdez: hunger will not be allowed to win.
At the heart of this declaration is a bold and symbolic first move—the proposed Rice Bill, presented as one of the priority measures of the 20th Congress. The bill carries a dual promise that speaks directly to the nation’s most urgent food dilemma: to make rice affordable for consumers while ensuring fair and sustainable income for Filipino farmers.
It is an ambition that sits at the crossroads of economics, social justice, agriculture, and governance—and one that could define the legacy of the new Congress.
Rice and the Filipino Soul
To understand the weight of Romualdez’s proposal, one must first understand rice itself. In the Philippines, rice is not simply a commodity measured by kilos and pesos. It is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is celebration and comfort. It is the first solid food many children eat and the last dish shared at family gatherings.
Yet for millions of Filipinos, rice has become painfully expensive. Fluctuating prices, supply disruptions, climate-related crop losses, and global market instability have turned rice from a staple into a source of anxiety. Families stretch meals. Parents skip servings. Hunger, once seasonal, has crept into daily life.
Romualdez’s statement—that hunger must not be allowed to win—is therefore not rhetorical flourish. It is a recognition of a national emergency.
The Rice Bill: A Statement of Priorities
By positioning the Rice Bill as an early legislative priority of the 20th Congress, Romualdez sends a clear signal: food security is not negotiable.
The proposed measure seeks to rebalance a system that, for years, has left both consumers and farmers dissatisfied. On one side are ordinary Filipinos burdened by rising rice prices; on the other are farmers who remain among the poorest sectors of society, despite being the backbone of the nation’s food supply.
The Rice Bill aims to address both realities simultaneously—a difficult but necessary task.
Affordable Rice for the People
Central to the bill is the goal of stabilizing and lowering rice prices for consumers. Romualdez has emphasized that no Filipino should go hungry simply because the country’s most basic food has become unaffordable.
While details of the bill are still being refined, its guiding principles include:
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Strengthening government mechanisms to manage supply and buffer stocks
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Preventing excessive price manipulation and profiteering
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Ensuring efficient distribution, especially during crises
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Protecting low-income households from sudden price spikes
For urban poor communities and rural families alike, these measures could mean the difference between nourishment and deprivation.
Protecting the Farmers Behind the Grain
Equally important is the bill’s commitment to fair income for rice farmers—a sector long trapped in a cycle of high production costs, low buying prices, and mounting debt.
Romualdez has stressed that affordable rice must not come at the expense of those who grow it. For decades, farmers have borne the brunt of policy imbalances, often forced to sell their harvest at prices that barely cover expenses.
The Rice Bill envisions:
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Fair farmgate pricing mechanisms
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Improved access to subsidies, irrigation, and modern farming tools
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Stronger protection against unfair competition
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Long-term investment in agricultural productivity
In this framework, farmers are not charity recipients—they are partners in national survival.
Hunger as a Policy Failure
Romualdez’s declaration that hunger will not win reframes food insecurity as more than a social issue—it becomes a policy failure that demands legislative correction.
Hunger, he suggests, is not inevitable. It is the result of gaps in governance, misaligned priorities, and delayed reforms. By confronting it directly through legislation, the 20th Congress positions itself as an active participant in solving one of the country’s most persistent problems.
This framing resonates strongly in a nation frequently hit by natural disasters, where food systems are often the first to collapse under pressure.
Lessons from the Past
The Rice Bill does not emerge in a vacuum. It is shaped by years of debate over rice liberalization, importation policies, and government intervention.
Previous reforms aimed to lower prices through increased imports, but critics argue these measures sometimes harmed local farmers without delivering lasting price stability. Romualdez appears keenly aware of these lessons, emphasizing balance rather than extremes.
The new proposal seeks to avoid repeating past mistakes by anchoring affordability to sustainability.
A Legislative Symbolism
Choosing rice as the first major proposal of the 20th Congress is also deeply symbolic. It signals a return to people-centered legislation, where daily survival issues take precedence over abstract political battles.
For Romualdez, a seasoned lawmaker and former House Speaker, symbolism matters. The Rice Bill represents a reset—a declaration that governance begins where hunger ends.
Economic Stability Through Food Security
Beyond its social implications, the Rice Bill also carries economic significance. Food inflation has a cascading effect on wages, productivity, and overall economic stability.
Affordable rice helps keep living costs manageable, allowing families to allocate limited income to education, healthcare, and small enterprises. In this sense, food security becomes economic policy.
Romualdez’s approach recognizes that a hungry population cannot be productive, and an unstable food system undermines national growth.
Climate, Crisis, and Resilience
The Philippines faces increasing threats from climate change—typhoons, floods, droughts—that directly affect rice production. Any serious rice policy must therefore include resilience planning.
While the bill’s final provisions are still under discussion, Romualdez has hinted at integrating climate-smart agriculture and disaster preparedness into food policy. This long-term view acknowledges that hunger prevention is not just about prices today, but supply tomorrow.
Public Trust and Political Will
Legislation alone cannot end hunger. Its success will depend on implementation, enforcement, and sustained political will. Yet Romualdez’s public commitment raises expectations—and accountability.
By stating unequivocally that hunger will not be allowed to win, he places his political capital behind the issue. For the public, this creates a benchmark by which the 20th Congress will be judged.
Farmers and Consumers: A Shared Destiny
One of the most compelling aspects of the Rice Bill is its insistence that farmers and consumers are not opposing interests. Their destinies are intertwined.
When farmers earn fairly, production becomes sustainable. When supply is stable, prices become affordable. The bill’s philosophy rejects zero-sum thinking in favor of mutual survival.
Challenges Ahead
The road to reform will not be smooth. Stakeholders—including traders, importers, farmers’ groups, and consumer advocates—will bring competing interests to the table. Global market pressures and unforeseen crises may complicate implementation.
Yet Romualdez’s framing of the issue as a moral imperative rather than a technical adjustment gives the bill a powerful foundation.
A Congress Defined by Compassion?
As the 20th Congress begins its work, the Rice Bill stands as an early test of its priorities. Will lawmakers rally behind a measure that places food security at the center of governance? Or will political divisions dilute its impact?
For Martin Romualdez, the answer seems clear. Hunger, in his view, is not an opponent that can be ignored or postponed. It is a force that must be confronted head-on, with policy, compassion, and resolve.
Conclusion: Choosing to Feed the Nation
In declaring that hunger will not be allowed to win, Martin Romualdez articulates a vision of leadership rooted in basic human needs. The proposed Rice Bill, as the flagship measure of the 20th Congress, reflects a belief that no nation can thrive while its people struggle to eat.
By striving to make rice affordable for the public while securing fair income for farmers, the bill seeks to heal a broken balance—one grain at a time.
Whether the promise will be fulfilled remains to be seen. But in a country where rice defines daily life, the choice to begin legislative work with food on the table is, in itself, a powerful statement: the fight against hunger is the fight for the nation’s soul.
