Romualdez's words show how serious gov't is with rice price cap
At A Glance
- The national government will seriously implement the price ceiling on rice, if House Speaker Martin Romualdez's remarks are anything to go by.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez (rightmost) (Speaker’s office)
The national government will seriously implement the price ceiling on rice, if House Speaker Martin Romualdez's remarks are anything to go by.
In a statement Sunday, Sept. 3, Romualdez said that penalties await those who do not follow the Palace-mandated price cap on the staple grain.
"Hindi naman kasi pwede na di sila sumunod sa utos ng Palasyo kasi bukod sa penalty, the government can file criminal cases sa mga hindi susunod sa price ceiling na ito (They cannot ignore this Palace directive because aside from penalty, the government can file criminal cases against those who don't follow it)," said the leader of the 311-strong House of Representatives.
This can be viewed as consistent with Romualdez's tough stance on the rice price issue and agricultural hoarding in general.
Last Friday, warned unscrupulous rice traders that the House will be unrelenting in its fight against hoarders and smugglers and would do everything to help President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. drive rice prices down to reasonable levels.
“If you want to be part of the solution, you are with us, we will help you, we’re going to support you. But if you’re part of the problem, we will root you out,” Romualdez told Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders’ Movement (PRISM) representatives during a meeting at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City.
Marcos' Executive Order (EO) No. 39 imposed a P41 per kilo price cap for regular milled rice and P45 per kilo price cap for well-milled rice.
The President is the concurrent Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary.