The House of Representatives will find ways to allocate P2 billion to help retailers who will be hurt by the price ceilings on rice imposed by the Palace last week, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said Monday.
Romualdez said he had instructed Ako Biko party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, to coordinate with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the swift allocation of P2 billion to support the rice retailers, who said they bought the grain from traders at a price higher than the price ceilings.
“Our goal is to ensure that we can extend assistance to rice retailers who may be affected by this rice price ceiling, as it is a directive from our President aimed at protecting consumers,” Romualdez said.
Hours before flying to Indonesia for the 43rd ASEAN Summit, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with the heads of several government agencies to discuss the implementation of the price ceilings on rice, which starts today (Sept. 5).
Some local retailers said they would rather close their shops temporarily than sell their current stocks at the ceiling prices, adding they would face huge losses if they did.
“It’s hard because you’re already selling at a loss, you’re working your store, and you’ll just get tired, for no profit,” said Aldrian Flores, a rice retailer at the Commonwealth Market in Quezon City, in a television interview.
“They (government officials) should bring the prices down from the people who sell rice to us so they can be sure to get the price (levels) they want,” Flores added.
Another rice retailer at the same market, Alfonso Flores, was taken by surprise by the price ceiling order and said the move would wipe out their profit of around P1,000 to P1,500 per sack of rice sold.
While admitting the goal of the rice ceiling price was noble and would check price manipulators, the agricultural group SINAG said the government should give retailers and rice traders more time to sell out their existing stocks before dropping the prices.
Jayson Cainglet, SINAG executive director, said the government could give traders another week to consume their expensive stocks before setting the new price ceiling.
Meanwhile, Co said his committee has already coordinated with the DBM under Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to find ways to fund the allocation.
Romualdez said this initiative underscores Congress’s commitment to fortifying and bolstering the resilience of essential food supply chains.
He had earlier disclosed plans to engage with rice retailers nationwide to listen to their concerns about potential financial losses stemming from the rice price ceiling.
“The government is not insensitive, so we want to listen to their concerns, and we will try to find a solution to address their fears of incurring losses,” the Speaker said.
“We are aware that they have high costs from traders, but our priority is the public’s difficulty in buying rice,” he added.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had issued Executive Order 39, setting prices at P41.00 per kilo for regular milled rice and P45.00 for well-milled rice starting Sept. 5. This action was prompted by government intelligence indicating that certain unscrupulous traders planned to hike rice prices to as high as P70.00 per kilo.
In a related development, AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee on Monday said affordable, stable rice prices are possible if the government is willing to invest to ensure the food security.
Lee filed a bill to establish a program to provide subsidies intended to lower rice prices while encouraging farmers to produce more rice.
“Food security is a national security issue,” he said. “If this is your perspective, we should treat our farmers as food security soldiers—an army being mobilized to feed millions of Filipino families, an army waging a war on hunger.”
Lee said lowering rice prices to P20 a kilo is possible in the long term if the government is willing to invest in a plan to increase rice production and shield consumers from rising international prices for rice.
“If the issue involves ‘national security’ — it’s automatic, it is an expense item. That means the government has to prioritize and provide funds for it. There has to be a plan so we can start. We need to start acting now,” Lee added.
Lee filed House Bill 9020 or the “Cheaper Rice Act” to establish a Rice Incentivization, Self-Sufficiency, and Enterprise (RISE) Program that aims to ensure that rice prices remain affordable for the ordinary Filipino consumer through a subsidy for the country’s estimated 2.6 million rice farmers.
The RISE Program Act tasks the Department of Agriculture (DA), in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and other relevant government agencies, to develop a pricing structure that will cover the minimum guaranteed prices for palay.
The program will also establish a regular monitoring system to mitigate the impact of fluctuating prices on palay and rice and design a system for payouts to farmers based on various scenarios of price decline.
Romualdez compared the current rice situation to what occurred with onion prices when onion cartels raised them to P800 per kilo. “Naturally, the President had to act swiftly to counter this ill-intentioned plan by a select few,” Romualdez said.
Retailers had aired their concern about the new price ceilings, saying they bought rice from traders for nearly P50 a kilo.
Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Dominic Tolentino Jr. raised proposed solutions to various concerns from retailers, rice traders, and farmer groups in the implementation of the EO.
Under EO No. 39, regular milled rice will be priced at P41 per kilogram while well-milled rice is at P45 per kilo, below the prevailing P56 per kilo found in some wet markets.
Among the possible solutions is the release of financial assistance to retailers in public markets to cover the difference in cost for the price ceiling and the current inventory.
Additionally, Tolentino said that the government is also considering providing logistical support, such as the transportation of rice supply from traders to retailers.
The government is also discussing the possibility of linking farmers directly to supermarket chains and other retailers to find alternative markets and the use of the Kadiwa-Diskwento caravan, which would sell rice at an affordable price to the public.
Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian has suggested livelihood assistance or the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) for small-scale rice retailers and the proposed social safety net for affected rice retailers.
The labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) meanwhile, called on the government to pursue an all-out anti-smuggling campaign, break the cartels and arrest the hoarders, and implement a moratorium on the conversion of agricultural lands.
In a statement, TUCP Vice President Luis Corral said that more can be done by the government to stop hoarding and smuggling that result in the increase of rice and other basic commodities by strictly enforcing rules and guidelines and putting behind bars people involved in illegal acts.
“During these difficult times of price spikes, working families have been suffering for so long now. Now is the time for all sectors to share in the burden and share in the sacrifices as we build back better and forge a new social contract for a far more decent and equitable Philippine society,” he said.
“Rice is the primary basic commodity of Filipino families. As it becomes less affordable and its supply less reliable, rice inflation will further dwindle the fast-eroding purchasing power of workers’ wages as well as exacerbate already-severe hunger and malnutrition in the country as wages remain poverty wages that cannot feed nutritious meal to their families,” Corral said.
He said government should pursue an all-out anti-smuggling campaign for agricultural products, especially rice, saying “the first order of battle is to immediately go after these smugglers, cartels, and hoarders who have been ‘gaming’ the agricultural market and torturing our local farmers for all these years.”