In a bid to protect Filipino farmers from what is seemingly a persistent problem on low farmgate prices of palay (unmilled rice), and to ensure a fair return on their production costs, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on October 25, 2025, has signed Executive Order No. 100, establishing a floor price, and introducing trigger mechanisms for its implementation.
Frankly, I had a mixed feelings- both positive and negative – when I learned about this, considering the fact that this issue on low buying price of palay has been going on for too long a time,dating back to many previous administrations.
As one among the frontline development workers affiliated with DA, I am fully aware that this has long been the clamor of our rice producers. Hence, I feel so sorry that nothing like this has ever been done in the past despite the fact that the low price of palay has been there and long been endured by our so called “food heroes.”
Now that such an Executive Order was issued, I can’t help but silently praise
PBBM’s deepest understanding and empathy when every sitting president before could have done the same, but refused to lift a finger to alleviate the unbearable difficulties facing our farmers – especially in getting a fair and just price for their fresh farm produce.
However, watching and reading the reactions of some farmers organizations, both in the broadcast and social media, I also feel sad that many have reacted negatively to this landmark action taken by our president.
As I observed this unfolding of events, I can categorically say that we, Filipinos, are severely divided and nothing can ever satisfy everyone. As If every action of our leaders is always marred with doubt and suspicion.
Instead of rallying behind and supporting the enforcement of such executive order, die hard critics and self-proclaimed defenders of Filipino farmers non-chalantly oppose and attack the chief executive for various nonlogical reasons.
Let’s take a look at the following comments which I have selectedly grabbed from the social media:
1.) Hanggang papel lang yan ang katotohanan konti nlang nagtatanim ng palay kulang na sa Food Security. Ang presyo hindi parepareho sa mga regions at kontrolado sa nag papautang o namimili.”
2.) Palabas nlang yang EO 100 na yan ng Gobyerno eh wala namang Pangil, bungi at walang ngipin.”
3.) Paliko liko parin ang contents ng Executive order na yan walang malinaw na presyo na nabangit o pagbaba man lang sa mga ginagamit na fertilizer o abono.”
4.) Yung mga private traders na bumibili ng hanggang 95% ng inaani ng mga magsasaka, hindi sila sakop ng mandato ng floor price, so may kakayanan parin silang bumili sa mas mababang presyo.”
These are just a few of many negative comments that cropped up online. I wonder how they arrived these sweeping statements or speculations, when in the first place, before the crafting of this order there has been a series of multisectoral consultations made.
No less than Senator Francis Pangilinan, the Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Agriculture has stated that he had worked with Malacañang and the Department of Agriculture (DA) in drafting the executive order on farm initiatives. And that he had meet with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), seeking the issuance of two executive orders (EO) on the government purchases of wet and dry palay with a minimum floor price.
With the above statements of Senator Pangilinan, that working draft have been carefully studied and presented to selected governors and farmers groups along with (our DA) Secretary Kiko Laurel.
So that readers of this humble column may know, the issuance of such Executive Order is aimed at defending our local farmers and farmers’ organizations that raised concerns over the farmgate prices of palay which remain stubbornly low. They have persistently urged the government to implement a P5-per-kilo support price and to revert tariffs on imported rice.
The groups noted the import ban has so far failed to lift farmgate prices, which remain between P10 and P12 per kilo in most areas and have dropped to as low as P8 in others.
I remember, we, at the DA RFO 8, has long been reporting about these persistent low palay price. Since, we have a daily price monitoring team, our deployed personnel conducted their own validation. And indeed, we found out that in some areas, the price of palay per kilo has unpredictably dived or retrogressed to as low as P11.00 a kilo.
We have reported said price trend as requested by Central Office, and pretty sure, our reports formed part of the collective basis why, the agency rightfully acted on this cry for help by our farmers.
Affected farmers all over the land was truly in unison asking for decisive action from our government.
Fast forward today, the perceived solution of such problem, which is the floor price, is still being questioned or doubted.
What is clear to me now is that we, Filipinos, are truly hard to please. In local Tagalog language, “sala sa init at sala sa lamig.” A Filipino idiom that means someone is never satisfied or pleased, regardless of the circumstances.
If you gonna ask me what is my personal stand or opinion on this, I would definitely answer you that such an EO is a kind of fresh air and a typical proof that the current administration is aptly listening to the cries of our farmers.
In case you don’t know it yet, the best-known example of a price floor is the minimum wage, which is based on the normative view that someone working full time ought to be able to afford a basic standard of living. Another good example of a price floor is the rent controls on apartments in major cities.
As we all know, the fixing of the floor price for minimum wage and apartment rentals could vary from one region to another after considering some parameters or criteria prevailing in the specific region or area. As such, the floor price for palay can never be the same or true to all accross regions.
That is the very reason why there is a steering committee that must oversee in every particular region. It definitely has a semblance to the existing regional wage boards that are pivotal in establishing and adjusting the minimum wage in different parts of the Philippines.
These bodies are composed of representatives from the government, employers, and workers’ organizations, tasked with conducting regular wage review hearings and consultations.
Therefore, it is outrightly unfair to prematurely judge the said EO as just for show or has no teeth at all. I have a gut feeling the steering committee will be institutionalize soon enough in preparation for the full-swing implementation of EO No. 100 or the floor price order.
I’m pretty sure this will gonna happen. Wanna bet?
