The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday, Sept. 12, expressed commitment to disburse livelihood grants to rice retailers amid the implementation of the rice price cap.
 

In a Palace press briefing, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian welcomed Executive Order (EO) No. 39 which set a price ceiling of P41 per kilogram for regular milled rice and P45 per kilogram for well-milled rice nationwide.

“DSWD welcomes the executive order kasi ang mga kliyente namin ang nakikinabang sa Executive Order na ito (DSWD welcomes the Executive Order as our clients benefit from it),” Gatchalian said.

The said EO, he added, is a means of “social protection for protecting the most vulnerable who may not have the means to buy rice at a very steep price.”
 

Helping affected retailers

In the same briefing, Gatchalian said that one of the ways to help the affected rice retailers is the distribution of cash assistance in different parts of the country.

"Naatasan kami ng pangulo na siguraduhing 'yung kapakanan ng mga micro and small rice retailers ay mapangalagaan (Upon the president's directives, we are tasked with ensuring the welfare of micro and small rice retailers is safeguarded),” he added.

Gatchalian, however, clarified that there has been the DSWD's Sustainable Livelihood Program (DSLP) already even before the price cap to help the “underprivilged, informal, vulnerable, and marginalized” citizens who want to work.

"Sa programang ito binibigyan sila ng seed capital, build up ng capital nila sa mga pagkakataon na hindi inaasahan katulad nito (In this program, they will be given seed capital to build up their capital in unexpected times like this),” he added.

As of now, Gatchalian stated that each micro and small rice retailer will receive P15,000 to bolster their capital in light of the price cap's impact.

On Sept. 9, the disbursements of the cash aid already took place in San Juan City, Caloocan City, and Quezon City. On Sept. 11, rice retailers in Paranaque, Navotas, at Zamboanga del Sur received the cash assistance.

Gatchalian said 474 rice retailers had been given assistance amounting to P7.5M.

Furthermore, Gatchalian noted that there are currently 5,942 rice retailers with permits for both public and private markets, as well as Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration. This number “may still decrease” due to ongoing evaluations aimed at preventing duplicates.

Regarding retailers outside public markets, Gatchalian mentioned that a “Phase 2” is planned for them. The DSWD is also collaborating with Local Government Units (LGUs), other government agencies, and private sector groups to ensure their inclusion in the program.

Challenges in disbursement

Meanwhile, Gatchalian cited challenges in the distribution of the livelihood grants like the absence of the beneficiaries on their scheduled date.

“Remember these are micro and small rice entrepreneurs. They are working too and they cannot just close their shops and come into our payout,” Gatchalian said.

To address this, Gatchalian said the DSWD started scheduling payouts during “non-peak” market times in the afternoon to accommodate them.

“Also we came up with the return bout, they call it for our return dates in those areas with the hours that they can come out,” Gatchalian said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Gatchalian added that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is also gathering names of rice retailers as many as it can by coordinating with the Grains Retailers Confederation (GRECON), other agencies like the National Food Authority (NFA) 2019 retailers list, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Social Security System (SSS), (LGUs) market masters and private sector --- among others.

“It is important to capture as many as we can and that is where struggles coming from that is why what happens is they will give us the list batch by batch),” he added.

Cash assistance

Meanwhile, Gatchalian did not mention anything about a possible second tranche of cash assistance given the statement of the president that the "price cap is not meant to last long."

"The President said that the price cap is not meant to last long so that's why we were sticking to that, by me engaging that question that means we're already entertaining a prolong period of EO 39 which is not the directive or the direction of the president,” he added.

Referring to the DTI, Gatchalian also stated that P15,000 is a fair amount to compensate small retailers for potential “losses during this short time period."

He also mentioned that monitoring of the program's outcomes will be conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Agriculture (DA), and the DTI.

He also said that there will be monitoring of the output by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture (DA), and DTI.

"From my understanding, they are very persistent in monitoring even before, during, and I would assume after the price cap,” said Gatchalian.

Rice retailers who might not be on the list

Gatchalian mentioned that a joint infographic has already been shared on the social media accounts of the DILG and DTI.

This infographic, he explained, provides information on who will receive the cash assistance, where it will be disbursed, and instructions for appealing if an individual believed they deserved to be on the list but were not included.

He noted that rice retailers who were not on the list can apply online or can “appeal” at the grievance desk that is available during payout days.(Lizst Torres Abello)