The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday started the conduct of monitoring and profiling of rice retailers in Zambales.

Together with the officials and personnel of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Municipal Agriculture Office, Philippine National Police and the local government unit of Cabangan, the DTI-Zambales conducted a joint monitoring at the rice section of Cabangan Public Market as well as profiling of the rice retailers.

The move is in line with the implementation of Executive Order No. 39 of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. which sets a price ceiling of PHP41 per kilo for regular-milled rice and PHP45 per kilo for well-milled rice.

During the profiling, DTI Central Luzon Regional Director Brigida T. Pili said rice retailers were asked about their purchase prices and other information to determine the losses that they would incur due to the ceiling cap.

“Some rice retailers have expressed concern about the implementation of the rice price ceiling, saying that they suffer losses. Thus, we have started compiling a list of affected rice retailers and assessing the potential losses caused by the price cap,” Pili said in an interview.

She said the generated data through profiling will serve as guidelines to determine measures on how to ease the effect of the price cap on the rice retailers.

She also said that information dissemination on the implementation of the rice price ceiling will also be conducted to the rice retailers.

Meanwhile, Crispulo T. Bautista, regional director of the Department of Agriculture-Central Luzon, said it is not only the DA and the DTI that are tasked with the implementation of the mandated rice price ceiling.

“Inaatasan din ang LGUs upang magkaroon ng partisipasyon sa monitoring at pagpapairal ng batas (The LGUs are also directed to participate in the monitoring and the implementation of the law),” Bautista said in a regional television interview. (PNA)