MAASIN CITY (PIA) -- For adhering to the presidential directive outlined in Executive Order 39, some 14 rice retailers from different municipalities of Southern Leyte province received cash assistance under the Sustainable Livelihood Program - Emergency Relief Subsidy (SLP-ERS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The payout was collectively held in the town of Sogod on Friday, September 22, according to Wencel Marie Laroa, Information Officer of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial office.
A DSWD staff member shared input during a short ceremony prior to the payout for compliant rice retailers.. (Photo courtesy of DTI Southern Leyte)
Of the 14 compliant rice retailers, two are from Sogod, one each from the towns of Libagon and Liloan, six from San Francisco, and four are from the municipality of Silago.
DTI, together with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), was tasked with consistently monitoring compliance with EO 39, which mandates a price cap of P41 per kilo for regular milled rice and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice sold to consumers in markets and retail outlets.
This week, one rice retailer in Maasin City signified an intention to comply and is just waiting for the payout schedule.
On September 12, City Mayor Nacional Mercado met with rice traders in the city, including their supply sources from neighboring Matalom and Bato towns in Leyte, in a sharing of ideas and efforts to follow the president’s order in the meantime that its full implementation was not yet enforced.
A rice retailer, Ricardo Lagumbay of Libagon (center), holds the cash aid as he poses for a photograph with (L-R) OIC DTI Provincial Head Aurora Sabalo, Sogod Vice Mayor Ramil Golo, and two DSWD staff, Maricel Espina and Jasper Aguelo. (Photo courtesy of DTI Southern Leyte)
“We should come up with solutions to support the president’s call. Let us help each other at this early stage of monitoring,” Mercado appealed.
Mercado pointed out that the local government unit, through the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC), was also tasked like the DTI and DILG to monitor the situation daily for updated reports.
Attending the meeting were members of the LPCC that included national government agencies such as the DILG, DTI, NFA, DOJ-Prosecutor, PNP, and LTO, as well as city offices of the DA, City Health, Healthy City Initiative, City Planning, and the city agriculture and fisheries council.
The public can contact the DTI provincial office through their landline, (053) 570 8596, or message through their FB Page, DTI-Southern Leyte, for complaints. (LDL/MMP/PIA Southern Leyte with a report from Wencel Marie Laroa, DTI S. Leyte)
