Farmers group to counter cyber libel, oral defamation charges

THE Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) on Monday said it will file a counter-affidavit to contest the cyber libel and oral defamation charges filed earlier this month by Planters Products, Inc. (PPI) before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office, amid a dispute over the latter’s rice importation activities.

In a Facebook chat with BusinessWorld, FFF Board Chairman and former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor gave a brief “yes” when asked if the group would respond to the allegations but did not specify a filing date.

The FFF also said in a statement that the complaint filed on May 5 accused the group of falsely claiming that PPI is a government-controlled or -owned corporation and had illegally imported rice since 2025. The farmers group maintained that its assertions were prompted by concerns over the impact of PPI’s rice imports from countries like India and Vietnam on domestic palay prices and farmers’ incomes.

Data from the Bureau of Plant Industry cited by the group identified PPI as the country’s third-largest rice importer as of late April, accounting for 75,742 metric tons or about 5% of total arrivals.

FFF is among the two farmers’ groups, including the Magsasaka Party-list, originally named as respondents in the PPI complaint concerning alleged malicious statements about the company’s corporate status and rice trade activities, with both camps expressing intent to counter the allegations. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking