Business
Trade & Industry
DTI assures P15,000 cash distribution continues despite EO 39 lifting
DTI assures P15,000 cash distribution continues despite EO 39 lifting
By MB Business
Despite President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s order lifting Executive Order No. 39, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) assured that the one-time cash aid distribution will continue until all Sustainable Livelihood Program-Economic Relief Subsidy (SLP-ERS) beneficiaries listed by the DTI are provided with P15,000 each.
“Tatapusin… [We will finish it] para naman fair ‘di ba, patas ang laban ika nga [to be fair with the SLP-ERS beneficiaries],” DTI Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said during the Consumer Welfare Month press conference at the Board of Investments’ (BOI) Building on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
As of Sept. 29, there are 14, 480 out of the targeted 19,685 micro and small rice retailers nationwide have received P15,000 cash assistance each, under the SLP-ERS of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), bringing a total of P217.2 million worth of cash aid.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), a total of P35.955 million worth of cash assistance has been released to 2,397 retailers, with the remaining 5,738 listed SLP-ERS beneficiaries who are set for payout as of Oct. 2.
The EO 39, which mandated the price cap of P41 per kilogram for regular-milled rice (RMR) and P45 per kilogram for well-milled rice (WMR), was lifted by Marcos on Wednesday due to increased compliance in the retail prices, stable stocks supply, and favorable volume of rice imports.
At the conference, Fair Trade and Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) Director Fhilip D. Sawali reported that the DTI and the Department of Agriculture (DA) signed a joint memorandum of agreement last Sept. 30, stating the recommendation to lift the Mandated Price Ceilings (MPCs) to the Office of the President.
Sawali said that one of the indicators seen by the two departments was the increasing compliance rate as the average selling prices are close to the MPCs, while the average farmgate price is maintained at P14 to P23 per kilogram.
Based on the FTEB monitoring, Sawali reported that “the nationwide compliance is steadily increasing at 81.46 percent as of September 28.”
It was found that the average selling prices for RMR and WMR are P41.05 and P45.31 per kilogram, respectively.
Another factor is the sufficiency in the volume of rice imports, reflecting an increase in the number of sellers of RMR and WMR.
It means that “there’s a good number of sellers of the affected rice varieties across wet markets and supermarkets, as an indicator that the supply or inventory is improving,” Sawali said.
Since the implementation of EO 39, the DA has delivered a total of 567,205 kilograms of rice, sold to rice retailers and KANDIWA outlets.
Under the Rice of Wheels for Retailers Program, a total of 7,081 rice sacks – worth 50 kilograms each – were distributed nationwide.
Lastly, the decreasing world price of rice is also seen as a factor in lifting the MPC as the country expects a good volume of rice imports.
"As we know, the harvest [season] of our local farmers has started from last month, September to this October," Sawali added, emphasizing that both domestic and imported rice supply is getting stable as expected.
Since Sept. 26, there were 456 rice containers released from the ports, of which 168 were released from the Manila North Harbor, and 288 were released from the Manila South Harbor. As of Oct. 2, there are 597 remaining rice containers docked. (Ma. Joselie C. Garcia)