MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday said that the P15,000 financial aid for small retailers affected by the government-imposed price cap on rice will be released within the week.
DTI Asec. Agaton Uvero also clarified that the price caps only affect regular-milled and well-milled rice, not special rice.
“‘Wag malito, hindi lahat ng bigas ay covered ng price cap. Sa mga retailers naman, tulong tulong tayo, within the week magsisimula ang ayuda o assistance para sa naapektuhan ng mababang presyo,” said Uvero in a Laging Handa briefing.
(Don’t get confused; not all rice is covered by the price cap. As for the retailers, let’s help. Help will start within the week for those affected by low prices.)
According to Uvero, the price ceiling on rice will not be implemented for long and will be lifted as soon as market prices stabilize.
“As soon as maging stable na ‘yung prices sa mercado, ili-lift na rin po namin ‘yung price cap, at papasok na rin po kasi ang harvest season,” he added.
(As soon as the prices in the market become stable, we will lift the price cap, and the harvest season is about to enter.)
When asked how many retailers will be provided with the subsidy, Uvero said that around 25,000 retailers have been listed in Metro Manila alone, adding that they will prioritize small retailers in public markets registered to their respective local government units (LGUs).
He said the DTI, through its small business division, will also scour for “micro-stores” or sari-sari stores that may not be registered to their LGUs and provide them the subsidy.
“After verification and validation na lehitimo sila at nagtitinda sila — palugi o nalugi sila noong mga nakaraang araw, target po natin bago matapos ang linggo magsimula na ng distribution ang DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) ng financial assistance,” said Uvero.
(After verification and validation that they are legitimately selling rice, and they have experienced losses in the past few days, our target is that before the end of the week, the DSWD will start distributing financial assistance.)
The said subsidy will then be distributed in DSWD centers.
On September 1, President Bongbong Marcos ordered a price ceiling of P41 per kilogram for regular milled rice and P45 per kilogram for well-milled rice effective Sept. 5 nationwide.
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