Pateros, national government distribute P15,000 'ayuda' to rice retailers
Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III and representatives from the national government on Sept. 13 distributed “ayuda” or financial assistance to retailers affected by President Marcos' imposition of a price cap on regular and well-milled rice.
According to Ponce, a total of 22 rice retailers in Pateros received financial assistance of P15,000 each, or a total of P330,000, coming from the national government.

Pateros Mayor Miguel Ponce III (right) giving "ayuda" to a rice retailer on Sept. 13 (Photo from the Pateros municipal government)
Representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine National Police (PNP) attended the ceremony.
Under Executive Order No. 39, President Marcos imposed a price cap of P41 per kilo for regular milled rice and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice, which took effect on Sept. 5.
In the ceremony, Ponce said the DTI will continue to monitor rice retailers in Pateros to ensure compliance with the rice price gap.
Ponce also told retailers that the well-milled rice that will be acquired by the municipal government from the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be given to them to sell at the price cap level of P45, translating to a profit of P3 per kilo.