PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to do everything possible to lower the price of rice in the country amid global uncertainties, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos issued the directive to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. during the sixth United Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (Uplift) Committee meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday.
During the meeting, Castro said that Marcos and other officials discussed measures to ensure an adequate supply of key commodities, including fuel, and to sustain government services amid the Middle East crisis.
She said the president ordered authorities to go after hoarders and profiteers taking advantage of the economic instability resulting from the war in the Middle East.
“Do not allow anyone to take advantage of the situation amid the Middle East crisis,” Castro said during a press conference.
“If collusion to increase rice prices is proven, the government will not hesitate to file cases and may impose a price cap,” she added.
Castro said the Uplift framework continued to guide a coordinated whole-of-government response to stabilize prices, safeguard consumers and strengthen the country’s economic resilience.
Following the meeting, Marcos was to convene the ninth Economy and Development Council meeting. He is expected to discuss broader strategies, including improving the country’s mass transportation system through expanded railway networks.
Meanwhile, Castro said the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cited the Philippines as one of the countries with the most extensive and comprehensive responses to the global economic shocks brought by the war in the Middle East.
Citing the April 2026 report “The Impact of the Middle East Conflict on Asia and the Pacific,” Malacañang said the ADB has lowered regional growth expectations to 4.7 percent and projected inflation at 5.2 percent due to disruptions in global energy supply.
The study indicated that the Philippines implemented policy responses across seven of eight categories, reflecting a broad and coordinated approach in addressing the impact of the global crisis, the Palace said.
The categories include fuel subsidies, targeted assistance, staggered oil price increases, demand reduction, supply-side actions, and energy diversification measures.
The study emphasized that the Philippines was one of only two countries, alongside India, that adopted measures to diversify fuel sources.
The response was carried out by the administration under a strategic whole-of-government framework that was anchored on the Uplift, established under Executive Order 110.
Marcos issued an executive order in March declaring a state of national energy emergency so that the government can carry out a mix of fiscal, social protection, and energy-related measures to mitigate the impact of the oil price shocks.
Among the measures implemented were fuel subsidies benefiting nearly one million public utility vehicle drivers, assistance for farmers and fisherfolk, as well as the expanded cash transfer programs, reaching over four million low-income households affected by rising prices.
These measures were complemented by monetary actions from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to help manage inflation and stabilize the economy.
The ADB, meanwhile, noted that while risks remained due to continued global uncertainty, the Philippines’ policy mix helped cushion the impact of the shock.
