Comelec urges govt to reset sale to May 13
Malacanang said it is set to proceed with the planned sale of the P20 per kilogram of rice in Cebu today, May 1, unless ordered otherwise. The Commission on Elections, however, urged the government to play it safe and start selling it after the May 12 elections.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday that the P20/kg rice would also be accessible to everyone and would not be limited to the indigents and the vulnerable sectors.
“Bukas po, lahat ay pwede pong mag-avail sa Kadiwa stores sa Cebu. Hindi po pili, kung hindi lahat po ng maaaring mag-avail po nito ay allowed po; hindi po ito limited lamang sa vulnerable sector (Tomorrow, everyone can buy this rice from the
Kadiwa stores in Cebu. It is not only for selected groups, but everyone can avail of it and is allowed to buy. This is not limited to the vulnerable sectors),” she said.
Castro said the Department of Agriculture (DA) had already applied for an exemption from the election ban for the sale of the P20-per-kilo rice at the Kadiwa
Centers in Cebu and the rest of the Visayas provinces. She said the DA already got such an exemption from the Comelec recently.
She said the DA, as of April 30, was just waiting for the Comelec’s order to exempt the sale of the grains by the local government units (LGUs), from the election ban.
The Comelec, meanwhile, said the DA has not sought a clarification on whether the roll-out of the P20/kg rice sale would be exempted from the ban on government spending or disbursements from May 1 to 12 in connection with the midterm elections to be held on May 12.
To avoid any legal complications, the Comelec, called on the DA and local government units (LGUs) on Wednesday to suspend their plans to sell the P20/kg rice before the May 12 midterm polls.
In an interview, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said they have been urging parties to just push through with the rollout by May 13 despite its scheduled launching on May 1, Thursday.
“Our appeal to them is, if possible, just do the rollout after the elections. This way, no one will be accused that rice is being politicized,” Garcia said.
He said the Comelec would fully implement the ban on all types of government assistance from May 2 to 12.
“We want to stand firm on our policy of having no ayuda, distribution, or similar programs before Election Day, except burial and medical assistance,” Garcia said.
The poll chief, however, stressed that the DA has been granted exemption from the election ban, to sell the rice in its Kadiwa rolling store outlets.
“The Kadiwa stores are actually exempted already through the exemption we have
granted earlier to the Department of Agriculture,” Garcia said.
He added, however, that the participating local government units which have agreed to co-subsidize the P20/kg rice sale should secure a separate exemption from the Comelec.
“It will mean that the LGU will also subsidize. Once they subsidize it, it is tantamount to an ayuda,” said Garcia.
The DA is set to implement the P20-per-kg subsidized rice sales by May 1 with the initial launch set in the Visayas region.
Reporters covering the Palace and the DA learned that rice to be sold would actually be P33 per kilo but the national government and local government would shoulder or subsidize the P13 to be able to lower the cost and sell it at P20 per kilo.
The Comelec said the distribution of any kind of ayuda, except for medical or burial, should be covered by the 10-day ban stated under its Resolution 11060.
Elections Chairman Garcia suggested that the rollout of the P20-per-kilo rice be done nationwide but after the elections.
Castro said the administration would respond if that would be the official decision of the Comelec.
“Kung iyon po ang magiging panukala at polisiya po ni Comelec chair, tayo naman po ay tutugon (If that would be the official proposal and policy of the Comelec chair, we would respond),” she said.
The DA, through the National Food Authority (NFA), is pilot-testing the sale of the P20-per-kilo rice in Cebu starting May 1 and other parts of the Visayas starting May 2.
The national government plans to expand it to other parts of the country after the initial implementation.
Both Malacanang and the DA had said that the P20 per kilo rice would be launched in Visayas because the Visayan LGUs had volunteered to co-subsidize the
rice in support of the administration’s campaign to bring down the cost of the grain, and because as of April 30, there were more than enough supply of NFA rice in the government’s warehouses in the islands.
