Monday, 18 September 2023

Economic team nods price control on rice

The economic team of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is in favor of the recent imposition of price control on rice through the issuance of Executive Order No. 39.

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 “𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘨𝘢𝘱” 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦,” Secretary Pangandaman said.

“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.

The Budget Secretary likewise reiterated the unified stand of the economic team on the price ceiling, saying that it is indeed a necessary albeit temporary measure to help vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors amidst high prices of rice.

"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," Sec. Pangandaman said.

The Cabinet's Economic Development Group is led by Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno as Chairman, and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan as co-chairperson.

The Budget Secretary further enumerated certain conditions that entail some form of regulated price caps:

1. 𝙀𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨: During natural disasters or other emergencies (such as El Niño and typhoons), price ceilings can help prevent price gouging and ensure that essential supplies like food, water and medical supplies remain affordable and accessible to everyone.

2. 𝙏𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨:Price ceilings might be viewed more favorably when applied as a temporary measure to address short-term market disruptions (such as hoarding) to provide relief to consumers until the situation stabilizes.

3. 𝙏𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨: When markets fail to provide essential goods to certain segments of the population, such as the poor or vulnerable, price ceilings can be seen as a corrective measure to ensure these individuals have access to basic necessities.

The issuance of EO No. 39 is in line with the comprehensive approach being implemented by the government to mitigate the concerns of rice retailers and farmers, and to ensure that the rice supply remains sufficient at lower prices and greater competition can sooner be promoted in the rice industry.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘵-𝘧𝘰𝘳-𝘵𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮,” Pangandaman said.

It has been noted that in addition to intensified market monitoring, supply-side support, such as possible conduct of government-to-government transactions in imports, the proposed adjustments in import tariffs; quality control checks; and support to vulnerable groups form part of the government's comprehensive strategy to ensure that markets serve the best interest of the consumers and small farmers and retailers.

“𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘪𝘰𝘬𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵,” Pangandaman added.

Finance Secretary Ben Diokno earlier said that the  Inter-agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook (IAC-IMO) remains on top of monitoring the developments in food and non-food inflation. It will also closely monitor the implementation of EO 39 to help ensure that the short-term measure will be effective.

The country’s headline inflation rate rose to 5.3 percent in August 2023 from the 4.7 percent recorded in the previous month. This brings the year-to-date inflation rate to 6.6 percent, higher than the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) assumption of 5.0 to 6.0 percent for full year 2023.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 e𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 t𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴,” Pangandaman said.

“𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘦𝘳 (𝘛𝘊𝘛) 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭-𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥,” Pangandaman emphasized.

By sector, the biggest budget allocation in the proposed Fiscal Year 2024 national expenditure program was provided to the Social Services Sector, amounting to P2.183 trillion (37.9 percent), and the Economic Services Sector amounting to P1.709 trillion (29.6 percent). The prioritization of the Social and Economic Services Sectors demonstrates the government’s resolve to reduce poverty, foster infrastructure and human capital development, and steer the country back on a higher growth trajectory. In the end, such high economic growth will be accompanied by improvements in agricultural productivity and greater food security over the long term. (DBM/PIA-Caraga)