Piñol to recommend price ceiling on rice, onions

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol will submit a proposal to President Rodrigo Duterte this week to impose a price ceiling on basic goods such as rice and onions.

"The imposition of price ceiling is presidential prerogative, not mine. I can only recommend," he told reporters on the sidelines of a Senate hearing on Monday.

Senator Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate of the Committee on Agriculture and Food, during the hearing called on the DA to put in place a price ceiling on onion in areas where prices are unusually high.

According to the Republic Act No. 7581 or the “Price Act,” if the prevailing price of any basic necessity is excessive or unreasonable, the implementing agency may recommend to the President the imposition of a price ceiling other than the prevailing price.

Piñol said he will first recommend the measure to economic managers, who earlier expressed disapproval of the plan.

"I will submit on the recommendation of Senator [Cynthia] Villar. I will come up with the recommendation to be submitted to the economic cluster that price ceiling be set for basic commodities na nakikita natin na abnormal 'yung presyo sa merkado," he said.

"I will prepare it today. I will submit it to economic managers tomorrow," he elaborated. — BM, GMA News