Gatchalian says price ceiling on rice shouldn't be prolonged; here's why
By Dhel Nazario
At A Glance
- Given its complicated nature and effect on supply and demand, Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian said on Saturday, Sept. 2 that the Palace-mandated price ceiling on rice should not be prolonged.
Given its complicated nature and effect on supply and demand, Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian said on Saturday, Sept. 2 that the Palace-mandated price ceiling on rice should not be prolonged.
"Kasi ang mangyayari diyan yung mga dealers o yung mga traders hindi magbebenta dahil ayaw nilang malugi (What will happen is that dealers or traders will no longer sell because they don't want to suffer losses)," Gatchalian said in an interview on DWIZ.
"Yung magsasaka natin hindi magtatanim kasi kumbaga mataas na yung cost mo pero di mo mataasan yung presyo mo (Our farmers will not plant since their costs are high but they cannot charge a higher price)," he added.
Gatchalian stated that what may happen in the medium term is that the country may suffer a shortage. The senator stated that while he understands this decision by the Department of Agriculture (DA) so that the price of rice will not suddenly increase, the price cap must not be extended.
What's important now, according to Gatchalian, is for the country to get its new supply of rice from importation. He said that due to the arrival of several tropical storms, the country's rice supply has declined.
The implementation of the price ceiling, Gatchalian said, was done under the impression that there are no rice hoarders since they would be the ones who would greatly benefit from this since they bought the rice at a lower price and they could sell it at a higher one.
"Ang importante ang enforcement, masigurado natin na itong mga hoarders ay mahuli, walang mga bodegang punong-puno ng bigas at walang bodega na talagang tinatago lang yung bigas (It's important to have enforcement, so that we can be sure that these hoarders are caught, no storehouses are filled with rice and are hiding rice)," he explained.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has approved the recommendation to impose a mandated price ceiling. Effective starting Sept. 5, the mandated price ceiling for regular milled rice is P41 per kilogram, while it is P45 per kilogram of well-milled rice.