The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) questioned the legality of the alleged importation of more than 315,000 tons of rice in September 2025 despite the imposition of a ban on imports starting September 1.
In a statement, the farmers group noted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 93 on August 29, 2025, suspending the importation of regular and well-milled rice for 60 days starting September 1. The said EO took effect the next day upon its publication in the Official Gazette.
However, FFF pointed out that import entry records sourced from the public database of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) showed that a total of 340,216 tons of rice entered the country in September despite the import ban.
Although the ban exempted “specialty rice varieties not commonly produced by local farmers”, FFF alleged that almost 93 percent of the shipments consisted of rice with 5 percent to 25 percent brokens which clearly fall within the rice grades that are prohibited by the ban.
“It would be impossible for these banned shipments totaling more than 315,000 tons to have entered the country in just one day, on September 1,” said Raul Montemayor, FFF National Manager.
