The implementation of the mandated price ceilings for rice will start on Sept. 5, Malacañang said late Friday.
The clarification was made after Executive Order (EO) 39 stated that the price cap on regular and well-milled rice will take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
“The Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) clarified on Friday that Executive Order No. 39, which sets a price ceiling on regular and well-milled rice in the whole country, will take effect on Sept. 5, Tuesday,” Communication Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
EO 39 sets the mandated price per kilogram of regular milled rice at PHP41 and well-milled rice at PHP45.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed EO 39 on Thursday, approving the Aug. 31 recommendation of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to impose mandated price ceilings on rice amid the current surge in retail prices of the staple in the country.
EO 39 directs the DTI and the DA to ensure the strict implementation of the mandated price ceilings, monitor and investigate abnormal price movements of rice in the market, and provide assistance to affected retailers, with the help of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
It also orders the Bureau of Customs to step up its ongoing inspections and raids of rice warehouses to combat hoarding and illegal importation of rice in the country and facilitate the confiscation, seizure, or forfeiture of smuggled rice as may be warranted by the law.
In a media interview in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan earlier Friday, Mr. Marcos urged the public to report individuals who would fail to implement the price caps on rice.
“I would encourage anyone who finds that someone or a retailer is selling at above the price ceiling, i-report po ninyo, i-report ninyo sa pulis, i-report ninyo doon sa DA, doon sa lugar ninyo, i-report ninyo sa local government para matingnan po namin at tiyakin na hindi lalampas doon sa ating presyo na nilagay (report it to the police, the DA or the local government so we would be able to monitor and make sure that it would not exceed the price ceilings),” he said.
Mr. Marcos said that while EO 39 would be implemented nationwide, the government would focus its monitoring in Metro Manila, noting that the condition “is not so bad outside” the country’s metropolis.
Meanwhile, Garafil, citing the OES statement, said any inquiry or complaint can be coursed through the government’s 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center.