DA eyes maximum SRP of P42-P55 for imported rice By Ada Pelonia
T
HE Department of Agriculture (DA) is eyeing the imposition of a maximum suggested retail price on imported rice ranging from P42 to P55 per kilo. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the price range would be imposed on 25- and 5-percent broken rice varieties. He added that a “cheaper” price range would be suggested for the 100 percent broken rice variety. “Once we have the label rules set per type of rice magkakaroon ng MSRP ranging from P42 to P55 for 25 and 5 [percent] broken and cheaper MSRP for 100 [percent] broken,” Laurel told the
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BusinessMirror on Monday. He said the agency will finalize crafting the label rules within the month. The agriculture chief noted that the plan to impose an MSRP would prevent prices of the staple from hitting over P60 per kilo. “No variety of imported rice should cost more than P60 [for] regular or well-milled. That is clearly profiteering,” Laurel said, partly in Filipino. He added that the measure will not include Japanese rice, glutinous rice, black rice, basmati, and specialty rice. “In the future, the max should be mid-P50s [per kilo],” he said, partly in Filipino. Meanwhile, Agriculture As-
sistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the signboard in markets should include the type of rice, the country of origin, and the percentage of broken rice. “That’s the important information to include: [...] by type, by country of origin, and percentage ng broken,” De Mesa told reporters in a briefing on Monday. He also noted that the MSRP would provide a reference for Filipino consumers. “The MSRP will be imposed so that our consumers will have an idea [...] that this should be the price based on the costs of rice in the international market and the attendant costs before our imported rice reaches the markets,” De Mesa said, speaking in Filipino.
Briones: Minimal impact
HOWEVER, Roehlano Briones, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), pointed out that the DA’s bid to impose an MSRP on imported rice would have minimal effect on the prices of the food staple. “Based on experience with last year’s price ceiling, this will have minimal impact,” Briones told the BusinessMirror. For her part, University of Asia and Pacific Center for Food and Agribusiness (CFA) executive director Marie Annette Galvez-Dacul said that while the measure could tame rice prices, it could also affect the supply chain. See “DA,” A2
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‘PUNY RATE CUTS WON’T HELP PHL GROWTH GOAL’ T By Cai U. Ordinario
‘With P100-B income, SSS could do sans premium hike’
@caiordinario
HE need for households and corporations to recoup their savings may prevent monetary policy easing from boosting the country’s GDP growth this year, according to ANZ Research.
In its latest brief, ANZ Research said weak household and corporate savings in the Philippines caused by the pandemic “warrants drastic rate cuts,” which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is not keen on implementing. The BSP earlier said it will maintain an easing posture next year, but it considers a 100-basis-point (bps) reduction in key policy rates as “excessive,” as inflation could rear its ugly head again in 2025. (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2024/12/20/bsp-unlikelyto-cut-key-rates-by-100-bps/). “A shallow rate-cutting cycle is barely a panacea for households and private businesses. A key constraint on discretionary household savings is the need to rebuild savings which were depleted during the pandemic. This is exemplified in consumer surveys in Indonesia and the Philippines,” ANZ Research said. “Investment intentions of corporates have also been weak though not necessarily on account of a high cost of capital. Against this backdrop, it appears that drastically and not marginally lower borrowing costs are necessary to entice households and businesses to step up spending,” it added.
Public debt
FURTHER, fiscal policy support for the country’s GDP growth may also be insufficient. ANZ Research noted that the need to reduce public debt to under 60 percent of GDP may prevent public spending from boosting GDP. See “Puny,” A2
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
A
TOLL TALES Photos show Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) and infrared cameras installed across New York City, January 5, 2025, as part of the newly launched Congestion Pricing Program, the first of its
MID the increase in the Social Security System’s (SSS) pre m iu m cont r i but ion , the state-run pension fund has a “record-breaking” P100 billion in income in 2024, according to its former chief. “We urge Malacañang to request t he SSS Board to tempo rar ily suspend the implementation of any premium increases,” Former SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Rolando L. Macasaet said in a statement. According to the ex-SSS chief, the pension fund has posted over P80 billion in income in 2023 and P100 billion in 2024. This comes after SSS issued Circular No. 2024-006, increasing the premium contributions of members by 15 percent effective January 2025. IBON Foundation Executive Director Sonny Africa told the BusinessMirror the calls to suspend the latest increase in SSS contributions reflect how poverty, hunger and households without
kind in the United States. These cutting-edge technologies are key to the program’s efficiency, capturing license plate details and processing tolls for vehicles entering Manhattan’s Congestion Zone (below 60th Street). Toll rates range from $9 with E-ZPass to $13.50 without during peak hours, with reduced off-peak rates. The initiative aims to cut traffic, improve air quality, and fund crucial public transit upgrades. Story on page A2. TROI SANTOS
See “SSS,” A2
NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S) Notice is hereby given that the following companies/Employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s: ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.
NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION
QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE
AT SHA-XIAN SNACKS INC. Unit A2-a3 G/f Bayshore, 1 Diokno Blvd. West Side City, Tambo, City Of Parañaque
TANG, QIANG Restaurant Staff 1.
Brief Job Description: Oversee daily operations including managing staff inventory and customer service.
Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in multiple languages, both verbal and written. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
See “dole ncr” on A9
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 58.1700 n JAPAN 0.3698 n UK 72.2646 n HK 7.4789 n CHINA 7.9450 n SINGAPORE 42.4846 n AUSTRALIA 36.1119 n EU 59.9442 n KOREA 0.0396 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.4922 Source: BSP (January 6, 2025)