Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ Abalos vowed on Tuesday, Sept. 5, that the government will run after cartels that are manipulating the prices of prime commodities like rice.

In an interview at Mega-Q-Mart in Quezon City, Abalos said no arrests were made in the meantime for retailers selling rice beyond what is prescribed under Executive Order (EO) 39, which sets the rice price cap to P41 per kilo for regular-milled rice and P45 per for well-milled rice.

“Ang target natin dito yung mga (rice) cartel. Sila talaga ang nagpapataas ng presyo ng bigas (Our target really here are the rice cartels. They are the ones causing the high cost of rice),’’ Abalos said.

While the rounds at Mega-Q-Mart, Abalos appealed to the rice retailers and dealers to adhere to  the government’s rice price ceiling to ease the financial burden of the public, especially those belonging to the impoverished groups.

At the sidelines, several rice stall owners complained that they will surely incur heavy financial losses should they follow the rice price cap imposed by the government.

“Nabili namin ito (rice) sa mataas na presyo, pag kinwenta namin base sa presyong gusto ng pamahalaan siguradong lugi kami (We bought rice at high costs, if we make the computation based on the government’s price cap, we will surely incur heavy losses),’’ a rice stall owners who requested anonymity said.

Another rice retailer stated that several of them are contemplating on closing shop until the price of regular-milled and well-milled rice normalizes.

“Inutang namin puhunan na may interest at hindi kami tutbo kung bebental namin ito ng P41 to P45 kada kilo (We loaned our capital with interest and it is not economically feasible if we sell them (rice) at P41 to P45 per kilo),’’ another vendor exclaimed.

When informed of these concerns, Abalos explained that the government will provide compensation to the rice retailers to make up for the reduced prices that were previously out in the market.

The DILG chief bared with the rice retailers to bear with the inconvenience, stating that the rice price cap is only ‘temporary’ and not permanent.

With the rice price cap in effect, Abalos noted that the government is in the midst of making the necessary computation on how much aid should be provided to the rice dealers and retailers, adding that there is no time table yet on how long the lower cost of rice will last.

In the meantime, Abalos noted that the DILG will continue to conduct a massive information drive to make the rice dealers and retailers aware of the rice price cap that they should follow starting Sept. 5.

However, Abalos warned that the government will have no choice but to impose penalties and fines should rogue traders remain stubborn and fail to follow the rice price ceiling stated in EO 39.

Earlier, the DILG warned that violators of the rice price ceiling stand to face one year imprisonment and not more than 10 years jail term and pay penalties ranging from P5,000 to as much as P1 million upon the court’s discretion.

The DILG also asked the public to comply with the rice price cap of P41 per kilo for regular-milled and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice or face penalties as stated in Section 15 and 16 of Republic Act No. 7581 otherwise known as the “Price Act for a proven violation of EO 39.’’

Individuals or groups involved in the illegal price manipulation of prime commodities face jail terms not lower than five years and not more than 15 years and pay penalties of at least P5,000 up to P2 million.