Over 1,300 QC rice retailers to be affected by price cap: mayor
More than 1,300 retailers in Quezon City are affected by the mandated price ceiling of P41 per kilo of regular-milled rice and P45 per kilo of well-milled rice, its mayor said Tuesday.
Today is the first day of the implementation of the price cap under Executive Order No. 39, which states that regular milled rice should be sold at P41 per kilogram while well-milled rice at P45 per kilogram.
In an ambush interview, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said around 1,344 retailers will be affected by the price ceiling.
"We will make sure that all of them will be given some assistance. The national government told me that this campaign will only last for two weeks because they hope to be able to stabilize the price of rice at the right price at the right time," Belmonte told reporters.
Belmonte inspected rice stalls at NEPA Q-Mart with Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Agaton Teodoro Uvero to check if retailers were complying with the price ceiling.
“I observed during my short time here in the market that the retailers are worrying because the price that they are supposed to sell the rice is too low compared to the price they bought it. So they're very worried about their profits and this is exactly why the SILG (Secretary of Interior and Local Government) is here to show that they will not be abandoned by the government. The city government will follow the directive of the national government and we will cooperate in all possible ways,” she said.
She assured rice retailers that the Quezon City government would provide them with assistance.
“As I mentioned earlier, we will do measures such as waiving rent or giving them a discount on their stalls so that they won’t close down. And for those who have already invested or bought the rice, we are going to give additional assistance apart from the aid provided by the national government because Quezon City also has a budget for aid to provide to businesses during crisis situations and we just have to activate that budget,” Belmonte said.
“What’s important is that we can talk to retailers properly to make them understand that they are not our enemies. They should not be afraid that if they could not sell it at the mandated price they would be imprisoned or penalized. What’s important is to make sure they are okay and that for the consumers, the price of rice, which is their staple food, will not be too costly,” she added.
Meanwhile, rice stall owners at the market expressed different sentiments about the implementation of the price ceiling.
Rachel Saler, 34, expressed doubts about being able to sell well-milled rice at the mandated price.
“For now, I’m uncertain... because of the price ceiling, we are forced to sell it at P45 per kilogram even if we lose profit, as long someone will buy it,” Saler told The Daily Manila Shimbun.
Saler said she hopes the government would provide aid to retailers like her so they could sell rice at a lower cost.
Kristina Zara, 62, was confident that the Quezon City government would help her comply with the price cap.
“For now, I am not afraid because the city government has given us the assurance that they will subsidize the profits we lost,” Zara said in a separate interview.
Both retailers said they sold well-milled rice from P52 to P55 before the imposition of the price ceiling. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
