MANILA — As stipulated in Executive Order 39 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the price ceiling on the unit price of rice has been strictly enforced since Tuesday, September 5, 2023, throughout the nation.
According to this executive order, regular milled rice will have a maximum price of P41 per kilogram, while well-milled rice will be capped at P45 per kilogram.
President Bongbong Marcos granted approval on August 31, 2023, to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), who had recommended these price ceilings.
This decision was made in response to the recent surge in retail rice prices within the country.
It is worth noting that several warehouses in the Bulacan region were ordered to shut down due to suspicions of rice smuggling and hoarding.
In accordance with the nationwide implementation of these new price caps on rice, a store retailer is displaying rice along with their corresponding prices.
But days before the start of the implementation of EO39 some retailers defiantly said they would rather close shop than incur losses.
And this remains to be seen.
MNM will check on this in the next few days. (Benjamin Cuaresma/AI/MNM)
