The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has underscored the government's economic team's complete support for the recent implementation of price control on rice.

Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said that Executive Order No. 39, which mandates the prices of rice at P41 and P45 per kilogram, serves as an “active stop gap” to manage the price of rice.

“This will effectively serve as an ‘active stop gap’ to address the market’s current circumstances. Conditions truly warrant a special mitigating measure,” Pangandaman said in a statement.

"In an ideal scenario, we can let the market dictate prices. However, as NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority] noted, we are now faced with extraordinary factors that we have to consider," she added.

The budget chief said that the price ceiling can help during emergency situations, address short-term market disruptions, and target certain sectors to correct market failures.

"I join the Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Economic Development Group of the Cabinet in supporting this measure because it is necessary at this time to help those most affected by the otherwise uncontrollable sharp increase in the price of rice," she said.

Pangandaman noted the misconduct of specific market players and the presence of hoarders and speculators, which emphasized the necessity of enacting price control to promptly and effectively address the issue.

"We needed to act fast to effectively address this problem with a tit-for-tat strategy against unscrupolous traders, at least in the near-term,” she said.

The NEDA earlier said that the imposition of a price ceiling was due to the increasing rice prices, raising concerns about potential price manipulation by certain market players.

The DBM said it will implement intensified market monitoring, quality control checks, and support to vulnerable groups amid the imposition of the price ceiling.

“As what Secretary Ben Diokno said, this will serve as an effective measure against non-competitive practices by market players. We just have to carefully calibrate, implement, and monitor it,” Pangandaman said.

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno earlier said that the Inter-agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook monitors the developments in food and non-food inflation; and the implementation of EO 39 to ensure that the short-term measure will be effective.

The country’s headline inflation rate rose to 5.3 percent in August, up from the 4.7 percent recorded in the previous month.

This brings the year-to-date inflation rate to 6.6 percent, higher than the Development Budget Coordination Committeeassumption of 5.0 to 6.0 percent for the year.

“The Economic Team remains resolute in its commitment to mitigate the impact of inflation and help protect our consumers, retailers, and farmers,” Pangandaman added.

“We will help ensure the fast implementation of the government’s targeted cash transfer program, the fuel subsidy program for qualified workers in the transportation sector, subsidies to registered small rice retailers as well as other programs that will help aid our kababayans in need. The roll-out of the fuel discount program for the agriculture and fisheries sector shall also be expedited,” she added.

Among the sectors, the social and economic services will receive the biggest budget allocations for the fiscal year 2024, amounting to P2.183 trillion and P1.709 trillion, respectively.

The prioritization of these two sectors aligns with the government’s priority to reduce poverty, foster infrastructure, and human capital development, and steer the country back on a higher growth trajectory. (Xander Dave G. Ceballos)