DA to enforce Marcos' P50/kg imported rice price cap 'immediately'

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday it will immediately enforce President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s price ceiling on imported rice.

This comes a day after Marcos issued Executive Order 118, imposing a P50-per-kilogram price cap on 5% broken imported rice nationwide for 30 days "to address unjustified price increases, prevent market abuse, and ensure the availability of affordable rice while maintaining market stability" in the midst of rising food costs triggered by the Middle East crisis.

The order takes effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

"We will implement this immediately once it takes effect to help the general public cope with rising food costs," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

The Agriculture chief said the DA is empowered under the Price Act and the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage law to pursue hoarders, profiteers, cartels, and other market manipulators.

The EO 118 came amid the inflation rate's acceleration since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28.

In particular, inflation accelerated in March to 4.1% and further soared to 7.2% in April, from 2.4% in February.

Moreover, food inflation accelerated to 6.1% in April from 2.7% in March.

Rice, the country's food staple, accounted for about 9% of the consumer basket.

For the poorest 30% of Filipino households, rice's impact was heavier as it accounted for nearly one-fifth of their spending.

Tiu Laurel said the temporary price cap complements earlier interventions aimed at easing inflation and stabilizing food prices, which include the rollout of the government's P20-per-kilo rice program and the implementation of a maximum suggested retail price mechanism for imported rice, both of which helped temper rice prices before the recent oil-driven inflation surge.

The Agriculture chief said the National Price Coordinating Council would review the price ceiling within two weeks after implementation, and may recommend adjustments, an extension, or its removal depending on market conditions.

He added that the price cap is intended as a calibrated response to extraordinary market volatility while the government continues efforts to strengthen domestic rice production and curb speculative pricing. — VDV, GMA News