Help keep rice prices down, LGUs urged

MANILA, Philippines — Local government units (LGUs) have been urged to take steps to help the government keep rice prices low and ensure an ample supply of the grains.

By providing fertilizers and seeds to farmers while buying their produce and selling these at pop-up or rolling stores, LGUs can play a major role in having cheap and steady supply of essential products like rice,  Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos said.

“Local government units are the frontliners in the war against high prices of basic goods, including rice. We can help keep prices low at the grassroots level,” Marcos said.

She explained that in Ilocos Norte, they have been able to keep prices of rice at an affordable P27 per kilo in poorest areas while in some parts of the country, rice prices have shot up to high as P55 to P57 per kilo.

The governor, the only senatorial bet in the May 2019 polls coming from the local government, said  LGUs could replicate the efforts in her province and roll out “Kadiwa” stores to sell heavily discounted basic goods.

“I really get mad when prices of basic goods spiral out of control – and that is what is happening now. Basic goods are no longer affordable,” she lamented.

Marcos said replicating the “Kadiwa” centers or rolling stores would not only create a sure market for farmers’ produce but ensure a steady supply of cheap basic goods for poor families as well.

Use ethanol to keep fuel prices low

Amid the looming implementation of the second trance of excise tax on fuel under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, Marcos called on the government to increase the country’s ethanol blend to keep fuel prices low.

In an interview with The Chiefs, Marcos believed that increasing the country’s ethanol blend from 10 percent to 20 percent will result in lower gasoline prices by as much as P5 per liter.

“Given that ethanol is presently cheaper than gasoline, increasing the ethanol blend will result in cheaper ethanol-blended gasoline. This can be done without the need for additional legislation,” she said.

The price of ethanol, Marcos said, is lower than the price of gasoline prior to ethanol blending by at least P20 per liter. Imported ethanol is likewise cheaper than domestic ethanol by  P20 per liter.

The Ilocos Norte governor also reiterated her call for the suspension of the expanded value added tax on basic commodities, including fuel and electricity, for a year to ease inflationary pressures.

“The suspension of the VAT would provide immediate relief to millions of Filipino consumers. This will be the best Christmas gift the government can give to our people who are already reeling from the skyrocketing inflation for the past several months,” she said.