Cabinet men to do field work on prices of commodities

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered her Cabinet to fan out to the provinces for a first-hand check on prices of rice and fuel, and to look into other problems there, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said on Sunday.

"The President want us to be visible in the provinces. She wants to know the situation on the ground and for us to undertake [corrective] measures," Ermita said in a phone interview on Sunday.

"We were asked to determine the problems, determine if there is hoarding and see if there is mismanagement [in the distribution of NFA rice]," Ermita said.

Last Friday, Country Director Valerie Guarnieri of the UN World Program-Philippines noted that the subsidized sale of cheaper National Food Authority (NFA) rice was focused only in Metro Manila, depriving the poor in Mindanao and other areas of the country.

Prices of rice in Mindanao, touted to be the country's food basket, have reportedly soared to P45 to P51 a kilo.

"The President wants attention to be given immediately," Ermita said, adding that the Cabinet members were also asked to monitor the price of petroleum products.

Ermita said Cabinet members, who have been assigned certain regions to monitor, were set to discuss their findings and plans in Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.

Ermita, the Cabinet officer for regional development (Cord) for Zamboanga del Norte, said he was in the southern province last Saturday to attend the provincial anniversary and check out the public markets there.

"I found out that a kilo of [commercial] rice is being sold there from P31 to P43 while NFA rice is sold at P18.25," he said. But he said the governor and mayors there requested an increase in their allocation of NFA rice from 1,200 bags a day to 2,000 to 4,000 bags so they could reached far-flung towns and barangay (villages).

Presidential adviser on the peace process Jesus Dureza also reported that the price of rice in Davao stabilized after the NFA flooded key markets with cheap rice.

Ermita said he would convene the President's Task Force on Energy Contingency on Monday to listen to experts from the University of the Philippines expound on their "ideas on how to help overcome the ill-effects of the continuing rise of fuel."

He said they were set to discuss a plan to encourage the use of LPG and compressed natural gas in motor vehicles.

The President has earmarked P1 billion to help the transport sector convert diesel engines to LPG and CMG use.

"So the discussion will be on the overall gamut of energy acquisition and conversion to help in mitigating [the situation]," Ermita said.

Ermita added that he and President Arroyo did not discuss the possibility of her seeking emergency powers to deal with the problem of high fuel and food prices.

At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves is expected to present recommendations on how to reduce electricity rates.

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Cabinet men to do field work on prices of commodities