THE POLICE Regional Office (PRO) XI and Davao City Police Office (DCPO) urged consumers to report to the nearest station or their hotline if they find retailers selling rice for more than P45.
This after President Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order No. 39 or the “Imposition of Mandated Price Ceilings on Rice,” which became effective on Sept. 5.
Speaking at the AFP-PNP press briefing held at The Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday, PRO XI spokesperson Major Catherine Dela Rey said they already deployed PNP personnel to support the Department of Trade and Industry in monitoring and profiling retailers in the region.
Dela Rey said PRO XI director Brig. Gen. Alden Delvo ordered the city and provincial police directors to accompany the DTI team to enforce the rice price cap.
She added that the public may use the PNP hotline or the Pulis sa Rehiyon Onse and Police Regional Office 11 Facebook pages to report violators.
On the other hand, the Davao City Police Office also vowed support for the implementation of Executive Order No. 39, which imposes a mandated price ceiling on rice.
“We are committed to strengthening our collaboration with DTI and DA (Department of Agriculture) to ensure a peaceful and safe operation within Davao City,” DCPO chief Col Alberto Lupaz said.
Moreover, during Wednesday’s forum, Deolly Roque, DTI-XI Consumer Protection chief, said they already monitored three warehouses in Davao City so far.
Roque said one of the factors why the price continues to increase is the importation cap from other countries, particularly Vietnam which ships 90% of the country’s rice supply.
With the short notice of rice’s price cap, Roque mentioned they plan to extend financial assistance to the affected retailers.
EO 39 implements a price cap of P41 per kilo for regular milled rice and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice. The order is “mandated throughout the country and remains in full force unless earlier lifted by the President upon the recommendation of DTI and DA.”
