The government will use the P6.4 billion sustainable livelihood program fund of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to help small rice retailers, who will be affected by the price ceiling which starts on Tuesday under an executive order.

In his departure speech, Marcos said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are coming out with the list of qualified beneficiaries through the help of rice retailer associations.

"The rice retailers should have nothing to worry about. We understand that you will face an ordeal (because of EO 39), since yung will suffer losses. The government is there to provide you assistance so you can recoup your losses from the price cap," Marcos said in Filipino.

"The DSWD already assured us it has the fund so that once we compute the profit losses of rice retailers, we will provide them with the corresponding aid," he added.

EO 39 imposed a price cap of P41 per kilo for regular milled rice (RMR) and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice (WMR) nationwide to address the surge in the price of the food staple.

But the Department of Agriculture's weekly monitoring report in Metro Manila shows regular milled rice is being sold at P51 per kilo and P52.45 for well milled rice from August 28 to September 1.

Marcos defended the need for the price ceiling.

"As much as possible, I don't want to tamper with the market and let it do its work...but our market is being manipulated so the government has to step in by putting in place the price ceiling for the price of rice," he said.

The price cap will continue to take effect starting on September 5 until it is lifted by the President.

Marcos said he expects the price cap will last until the peak of the harvest season and the arrival of the rice imports from the private sector.

"The rice supply will be coming in the second week of September. These include the harvest from the Philippines and those which are imported. There will be no reason to raise the price of rice and we can bring it back to the price that we are used to," Marcos said. DMS