The Duterte government’s decision to boost imports to solve the rice crisis will just threaten the country’s rice self-sufficiency. Bantay Bigas explained that importing more rice will affect the livelihood of Filipino farmers as rice imports will compete with local produce to the disadvantage of poor Filipino farmers. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has obliged the Philippines to import rice even if the country does not need it as part of its commitment to the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, which has liberalized the agriculture industries of developing countries. Under the law, the National Food Authority (NFA) is tasked to buy the palay produced by local farmers as buffer stock for calamities and as a stabilizer in the market to avoid jacking up the prices of commercial rice. President Duterte allowed the importation of 250,000 metric tons of rice to replenish the NFA’s depleted rice inventory.