Economic team supports rice price cap as sound ‘stop-gap’ measure

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman reiterated on Monday their support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s order to impose a rice price cap.

In a statement, Diokno underscored the importance of immediately implementing a comprehensive set of measures aimed at securing long-term stability within the rice market.

"Executive Order No. 39 was issued by the President as the chief executive and the concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture. EO 39 serves as a lifeline, extending much-needed relief to Filipinos grappling with the high rice prices," he said.

Under EO No. 39, the mandated price of regular milled rice is P41 per kilogram while well-milled rice is at P45 per kilogram.

The Finance Secretary said the economic team views EO 39 as an essential stop-gap measure that needs to be supplemented with additional measures to achieve long-term rice price stability in the country.

"We agree with the President that implementing a price cap on rice is the most prudent course of action at the moment to achieve two critical objectives: stabilizing rice prices and extending immediate support to our fellow countrymen," he added.

The Finance chief said the President has directed the economic team to implement measures that will mitigate the negative impact of the price controls on rice retailers and farmers.

In a separate statement, Pangandaman said the EO will "effectively serve" as an "active stop gap" to address the market's current circumstances.

Pangandaman added that current measures warrant a special mitigating measure.

"In an ideal scenario, we can let the market dictate prices. However, as NEDA noted, we are now faced with extraordinary factors that we have to consider," Pangandaman explained.

"I join the Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Economic Development Group of the Cabinet in supporting this measure because it is necessary at this time to help those most affected by the otherwise uncontrollable sharp increase in the price of rice," Pangandaman added.

Diokno said in a briefing last Friday that Marcos did not consult the economic team before imposing the order. The economic managers were in the 14th Philippines-Japan High-Level Joint Committee Meeting on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation in Tokyo during the last week of August when Marcos made the announcement, he said.

"We were in Japan when that was announced. I was sitting with (NEDA Secretary) Arsi (Balisacan) and we were talking to Japanese investors. Of course, we were shocked."

Diokno, the head of the Marcos administration's economic team, said the price cap shouldn't be imposed for too long because it is not sustainable.

Price controls "don't really work" under ideal market conditions, and "it has adverse effects if allowed to linger for a longer period," he added.