Traders ignoring price cap warned
SPEAKER Martin Romualdez yesterday said government may grant financial aid or “ayuda” to rice retailers who will be affected by President Marcos Jr.’s Executive Order (EO) 39 which imposes a cap on rice prices as a means of reducing its price and to discourage hoarding.
Romualdez said there should be continuing discussions with leaders of rice retailers on their fears that the rice price ceiling ordered by the Palace last Friday would cause them financial losses.
“Hindi naman manhid ang gobyerno kaya (The government isn’t numb that’s why) we want to listen to their concern and we will try to find a solution doon sa pangamba nila na malulugi sila (to their fears that they’ll suffer losses),” said Romualdez.
While assuring retailers who will be affected by the EO that that the government will help them avoid financial losses, Romualdez warned those who will defy the order that there will be consequences.
“They can’t disobey the President’s order because aside from penalty, the government can file criminal cases against those who will not comply to the price ceiling),” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
The Speaker said this is why the government needs to “talk to them to come up with a win-win solution wherein they won’t be adversely affected by the price ceiling.”
“Let’s address what they say is the high prices of traders but of course, our priority is for the public who can hardly afford to buy rice,” he said.
Malacañang last Friday announced the issuance of EO 39 imposing a price cap of P41 per kilo for regular milled rice, while well-milled rice will have a price cap of P45 a kilo.
The order will take effect on September 5, according to the Office of the Executive Secretary.
Some rice retailers said they would defy the President’s order because most of them bought their supplies before the issuance of the order, and complying would cause them financial losses because their supplies were bought at almost P50 per kilo from traders.
Trade Assistant Secretary Agaton Uvero last Saturday urged traders to sacrifice a little for the welfare of many, saying that based on the Department of Trade and Industry’s computation, they “can sell within the cap at which they are not expected to lose but profits will not be big.”
Romualdez has been warning unscrupulous rice traders that the House will be unrelenting in its fight against hoarders and smugglers to help the President drive rice prices down to reasonable levels.
He said that while it is completely understandable for traders to earn profits from the rice trade, they should not be “too greedy,” warning that the government is willing to undertake even more drastic measures to regulate importation to prevent abuses by profiteers.
“Don’t try to scare the government. The government can take over and do the importing itself and just break even or even subsidize. At the end of the day, the people — the over 100 million Filipinos — should not be overcharged and go hungry,” he said.
MANIPULATION
Last Friday, the Speaker, along with other lawmakers, met with representatives of the non-government organization (NGO) Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders’ Movement (PRISM).
The House committee on agriculture, on Romualdez’ instruction, has also been looking into possible price manipulation and hoarding of rice by some traders.
During the PRISM meeting, Romualdez said the NGO’s representatives, “If you want to be part of the solution, you are with us, we will help you, we’re going to support you. But if you’re part of the problem, we will root you out.”
“We won’t stop until the President is successful in achieving his targets. We’re very serious about it. And we’re not gonna stop here in Luzon, we’ll go to Visayas and Mindanao. We’re gonna hit every region,” Romualdez said, referring to the Bureau of Customs’ recent raids on rice warehouses in Bulacan. “If we find out that people are importing and hoarding and profiteering, we’re going to raid. And Customs will just seize it and give it to DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development), to Kadiwa (stores), to the DA (Department of Agriculture) for sale at a much lower price point.”
SUSPECTED HOARDERS
The Speaker acknowledged the gesture of PRISM to make available to the public rice at P38 a kilo but he also noted that the target of recent raids in Bulacan rice warehouses suspected of hoarding and smuggling were members of the group.
Noting that rice imports, particularly from Vietnam, constitute only 18 percent of the total rice consumption in the country, Romualdez said traders cannot justify price hikes in the local market by citing world market prices.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said retailers must submit sworn statements to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry on their current rice inventories and their purchase costs to enable the government to address their concerns that they would lose if they would sell their stocks at the price ceiling.
Lagman said the National Food Authority (NFA) “must then be directed to buy the compliant retailers’ inventories at a level a little higher than their procurement costs, and the NFA must resell the supply to the public at the regulated price even at a loss, which it traditionally does.”
“This strategy would not only help the farmers with existing and additional subsidies but also the rice retailers and consumers,” said the opposition lawmaker.
