Section 2Sec./Art. 2

New Sections 5 and 6 are hereby inserted after Section 4 of Republic Act No. 8178, as amended by Republic Act No. 11203, to read as follows:

"Section 5. Strengthening the Regulatory Function of the Department of Agriculture (DA). - The DA, through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), is hereby authorized to:

(a) Require the registration and maintain a national database of all grain warehouses, storage facilities, silos, and controlled-temperature cold storages;

(b) Conduct regular inspection of grain warehouses and agricultural facilities to ensure compliance with palay and rice quality and supply standards and regulations; and

(c) Collect and analyze data on rice trade activities in cooperation with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the National Food Authority (NFA), and other government agencies for informed policy and operational decisions.

The DA-BPI shall exercise the aforementioned powers in addition to its existing powers related to sanitary and phytosanitary and food safety standards.

Upon request of the DA-BPI, the local government units (LGUs), the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, or other law enforcement agencies shall provide prompt response and assistance in the implementation of this section.