Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Monday that the country's economic managers support Executive Order 39 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which imposes a price ceiling on rice.

Diokno said in a statement that the imposed EO 39 is the "most prudent course of action" to reach the critical objectives, which are the stabilization of rice prices and the extension of immediate support to Filipino consumers.

According to the Finance Secretary, the economic group views the price cap as an essential stop-gap measure to prevent price hikes while stressing that other measures must be taken to stabilize rice prices.

He added that the government aims to stop non-competitive behavior in the rice industry by going after hoarders and smugglers, as well as those who are involved in economic sabotage.

Earlier, Marcos issued EO 39 to set a price cap of P41 per kilo for regular-milled rice and P45 for well-milled rice.