DSWD: Rice retailers affected by price cap may receive P15k assistance

Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday said small retailers affected by the rice price cap may receive P15,000 financial assistance under the DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) will come up with a mechanism and a list of beneficiaries for the aid, he added.

Gatchalian said he talked on Monday night with House appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co of Ako-Bicol party-list.

“Ang paliwanag ko, meron pa namang pondo ang DSWD. Kasi sa utos ng ating Pangulo, 'yung gagamitin nating behikulo na programa dito, 'yung tinatawag na Sustainable Livelihood Program,” he said in an interview onDobol B TV.

(I explained that the DSWD still has a fund. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ordered us to use the Sustainable Livelihood Program as a vehicle for the assistance.)

On Monday, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said the Marcos administration is eyeing to give P2 billion in aid to rice retailers who will incur losses due to the price ceiling.

Romualdez, in a statement, said that the House of Representatives through Co had reached out to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to find fund sources for the P2 billion.

The price ceiling on rice took effect on Tuesday, September 5.

The mandated price ceiling for regular milled rice is P41 per kilo while the mandated price cap for well-milled rice is P45 per kilo, according to Executive Order 39.

Marcos' approval of the price ceiling stemmed from the surge in retail prices of rice in local markets, which ranged from P45 to P70 per kilo.

Marcos said Monday that the mandatory price ceiling on rice would only be temporary.

This as Marcos emphasized that the harvest season in the Philippines is already finished and that the rice imported from other countries will soon arrive.

The President also vowed that the government had a plan for rice retailers who would be adversely affected by the price ceiling on the commodity.

In his departure speech before leaving for Jakarta for the ASEAN Summit, Marcos stressed that the government understood the concerns of rice retailers as he promised that aid would be available so they would not lose profits.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Sunday expressed its support for the price ceiling on rice across the country following the continuous increase in prices reported in local markets.

According to the NEDA, the price ceiling was only meant as a temporary measure that would be complemented by other government initiatives.

Trade Assistant Secretary Agaton Uvero meanwhile on Saturday said retailers who will violate the government-imposed retail price caps on rice might face fines of up to P1 million. —KG, GMA Integrated News