CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A group of rice retailers from one of the biggest markets in this city that has been affected by the price ceiling has urged the government not to delay the release of cash assistance.

THE Department of Agriculture-Region 10, together with the Cagayan de Oro City Price Coordinating Council, monitors the mandated imposition of rice price ceiling from a retailer in Cagayan de Oro. (DA-10 Facebook)

Franklin Dagcuta, president of the Rice and Corn Retailers Association in Cogon Public Market, made the statement after he questioned the small number of affected micro-rice retailers in this city who received the P15,000 cash assistance during the first batch of payout conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) on Wednesday, September 13.

"In so many vendors who sell P41 to P45 worth of rice per kilo, in Cogon, only one has been chosen to receive?" Dagcuta asked in vernacular in a phone interview on Thursday, September 14.

Dagcuta said they have been profiled by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and hoped to receive money that he said would be a huge assistance to them amid the implementation of Executive Order (EO) No. 39 or the rice price ceiling in the country.

Julie Nieva, information officer of DTI-Region 10, explained that the first batch of recipients for the assistance were micro rice retailers who followed EO 39 during the first week of implementation.

"If we did not sell our stocks (with the prescribed price of P41 for regular milled rice and P43 for well-milled rice), of course we cannot be considered affected," Nieva said in a press conference on Thursday, emphasizing that affected retailers are those who followed the EO.

THE Bantay Presyo Task Force attends a press conference in Cagayan de Oro City where the rice price cap was discussed on Thursday, September 14. (Franck Dick Rosete)

According to DSWD-10, a total of 39 affected rice retailers in the region were included in the first batch, 14 from Oroquieta City in Misamis Occidental, five from Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, and four from this city.

The nine affected rice retailers in Iligan City and seven from Bukidnon received cash assistance on Thursday.

Dagcuta stressed that right after the EO implementation, they sold P41 to P45 worth of rice per kilo, knowing that they would receive financial aid from the government.

The DTI-10, however, has forms where rice retailers can signify that they will follow the EO. After signing, the agency will verify the rice retailers on their price tags, and once verified, they will be included in the next payout.

Meanwhile, the association has sought the city government's response to the call of Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. for local government units (LGUs) to pass an ordinance to help the affected rice retailers by providing discounts on stall fees.

Councilor George Goking, chairman of the city council committee on trade and commerce, said that he let Mayor Rolando Uy decide which committee would be tasked with working on the matter as there is a panel that focuses on market vendors.

"If it is given to me, I will work on it as soon as possible, upon the recommendation of our Mayor Roland Klarex Uy," Goking said.

The Manila Bulletin has sought the City Mayor’s Office for comment but it has yet to reply.

Carlota Madriaga, regional technical director for operations of the Department of Agriculture-Region 10, said EO 39, which was implemented on September 5, will last for only 60 days.

The DA-10 has projected that rice self-sufficiency in the region based on local production would increase to 70 percent in September from only 26 percent in August due to the start of harvest. For the months of October and November this year, they projected that the rice self-sufficiency level would increase to 213 percent.

Due to the projected increase in production, Madriaga said "there is a probability that the price will go down."