ILOILO CITY – Rice retailers in Iloilo province vowed to follow the price ceiling set by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., Gov. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. said.
A RICE stall at La Paz Public Market in Iloilo City has yet to implement the price ceiling ordered by President Ferdinand F. Marcos Jr. (Tara Yap)
“We asked for their cooperation. We have to balance everything out,” Defensor told Manila Bulletin.
He gathered rice retailers on Wednesday, September 6, for a dialogue in mitigating the impact of Marcos’ executive order in which regular milled rice can only be sold at P41 per kilo and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice.
Defensor said the dialogue assured rice retailers that their concerns of huge financial losses will be addressed by the government.
Department of Agriculture-6 Director Dennis Arpia said that the profiling of rice retailers can give data to the extent of the impact and what the government can do.
The profiling of rice retailers can give a calculation of losses once they find out the data for rice stock, rice suppliers, and purchasing prices.
According to Arpia, data from the profiling will be given to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to identify rice retailers who can avail of the government’s cash assistance.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-6 has been tasked to monitor if rice retailers are following the mandated price ceiling.