MANILA, Philippines — The idea of reducing the tariff on rice from 35 percent to 15 percent did not come from the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev), an official told a Senate hearing on Wednesday. Presiding over the hearing of the Senate committee on agriculture, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan asked DepDev why it was supposedly against reverting the rice tariff to its previous level at 35 percent. The panel chairman also wanted to know why DepDev would want to keep the reduced tariff until 2018. “So I’d like to know your justification why you want it maintained at […]... Keep on reading: 15 percent rice tariff not DepDev's recommendation, exec tells Senate