CORTES, Bohol (PIA)—The first batch of subsidies for 6 micro rice retailers who were found to be compliant with the rice price cap, received their P15,000 one-time economic relief subsidy, in rites at the City Hall Atrium, September 14.
Small-scale rice retailers Anunciacion Tadle of JAJ City Enterprises and Heracleo Daradar of RLD Sarisari Store at the Dao Public Market, Gem Salas Bernido of Little Flower General Merchandise Jagna Public Market, Jessica Rejas of Pilmons Rice and Corn Store at the Carmen Public Market, Cerina Digal of Cerina Digal Store at the Sevilla Public Market and Cheryl Ibale of the Ubay Public Market all received their subsidies in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.s’ Executive Order No. 39.
The same executive Order Jr. placed a price cap for regular milled rice at P41 per kilo and well-milled rice at P45.
The price cap, or the imposition of mandated price ceilings on rice, forms part of government efforts to protect consumers amid a surge in the food staple’s retail prices and the alleged price manipulation.
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry recommended for the imposition of the mandated price caps, which shall remain in full force unless lifted by the President upon the recommendation of the DA and the DTI.
Since the EO mandates that the DTI and DA implement, monitor and investigate abnormal price movements, from August 31 to September 8, the office went to public markets in Bohol and found the six retailers compliant with the mandate, reported DTI Bohol officer in charge Vierna Teresa Ligan.
Information from the DTI also bared that a local rice miller distributor which supplies local retailers sell their well milled rice at P41 per kilo to the retailers, and wondered why they could not find these sold in the rice stalls.
A similar kind of well milled rice that is sold in the markets are labelled premium rice and are sold at P48 to P50, but the DTI, which has no technical capability to determine the milling classification or rice, could not confirm if this is the same rice a local trader is delivering to retailers.
According to the trade department, those retailers who qualified are all registered businesses at the DTI, but added that micro retailers, as long as they keep local permits, could also qualify for the subsidy.
Apart from the DTI, the DA is also mandated to monitor and implement the EO, but the agriculture department has yet to produce its monitoring reports.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development through Social Welfare and Development Officer Jimmy Crusio said the subsidy is part of the Sustainable Livelihood Program – Economic Relief Subsidy (SLP-ERS).
Meanwhile Tagbilaran City mayor Jane Yap congratulated the beneficiaries and vowed to support the government in its initiatives, as this would also benefit Tagbilaranons.
The next batch of subsidies would include some 33 small-scale rice retailers, which the DTI has found all (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)
