A commercial rice in the market. (PNA file photo)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) regional office here has asked local government units in Eastern Visayas to reactivate their respective local price coordinating councils to ensure the enforcement of the rice price cap as directed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
DA Eastern Visayas regional technical director Elvira Torres said the regional office issued an advisory to local chief executives as their first step in compliance with Executive Order No. 39 issued by the Office of the President on August 31.
Under EO 39, inked by Marcos on Thursday and made available on Friday, the mandated price ceiling for regular milled rice is set at PHP41 per kilo and the mandated price cap for well-milled rice is PHP45 per kg.
“We urged local government units to reactivate the council to address the increasing prices of rice in the region. We are happy that the price of rice in the region is comparably lower than in other parts of the country,” Torres told the Philippine News Agency on Friday.
From August 28 to September 1, the prevailing price of well-milled rice in this city is PHP52 per kg. while the regular-milled rice is sold at PHP49 per kilogram. The retail price is up from PHP39 to PHP41 per kg. in July.
The joint recommendation of the DA and the Department of Trade of Industry (DTI) to impose a rice price ceiling aims to ensure that the staple is “reasonably priced and conveniently accessible” to Filipinos, according to EO 39.
The DA and the DTI’s recommendation stemmed from the current increase in retail prices of rice in the country, which resulted in a considerable economic strain on Filipinos, particularly the underprivileged and marginalized.
EO 39 directs the DTI and the DA to ensure the strict implementation of the mandated price ceilings, monitor and investigate abnormal price movements of rice in the market, and provide assistance to affected retailers, with the help of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies are also mandated to render necessary assistance to the DTI and the DA to ensure the immediate and effective enforcement of the price ceilings on rice in the country. (PNA)
