Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said that the country is not in a rice emergency amid the imposed Executive Order 39 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In a televised interview, Pascual said that the rice situation in the country is not getting worse and that he is also confident as the harvest season is almost here.

He also stated that they are eyeing to harvest at least five million metric tons of rice between this month and the end of October.

Pascual also believes that the implementation of the rice price cap is effective, claiming that the implementation made the price of grain affordable to ordinary Filipinos.

He mentioned that the EO 39 made the rice available to consumers at P41 per kilo for regular well-milled rice and P45 per kilo for well-milled rice, which the DTI secretary thought was important.

Meanwhile, Marikina Second District Representative Stella Quimbo filed a bill that empowers Marcos to declare a national rice emergency in the House of Representatives on September 5.