By Claire Gigje / Philippine Information Agency
In response to Presidential Proclamation No. 1267 declaring a state of calamity in Regions IV, VI, VII, VIII, X and XIII due to the aftermath of Super Typhoon Odette, the Iligan city government plans to enforce a price freeze for agri-fishery products.
The proposal for a price freeze for basic agri-fishery products was tackled in an emergency meeting of the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC) Tuesday, December 28.
City Agriculturist’s Office (CAO) Supervising Agriculturist Marie Ann Beley bared that the recommendation revolves around December 15 price monitoring since it is the most recent prices before the calamity had an onslaught in some regions in the country.
“Mao pud ang atong gisunod base sa balaod nga kinahanglan ang imong pagkuha o pagdeklarar o pagrecommend sa price freeze prior to the calamity o sa mga panghitabo nga dili malikayan nga posible maapektuhan ang mga presyo sa agriculture ug crops diha sa atong mga kamerkaduhan,” she said.
[This is what we are following based on the law that the identification or declaration or recommendation for price freeze should be according to what has been prior to the calamity or events that inevitably affects the prices of agriculture and crops there at our markets.]
She cited that under Republic Act No. 7581, otherwise known as the Price Act, during a price freeze which is good for 60 days, prices of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPC) should be at their prevailing prices before the state of calamity declaration.
Beley further said the recommended level of price freeze was determined through the careful monitoring of prevailing prices in the market, which was identified through randomly selecting five vendors to see the most sold price for a certain product
Such a proposal is yet to be approved by the City Mayor and the LPCC hopes that it will be signed within two days so that it can already be disseminated to the retailers and the markets at the soonest possible time.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Lanao del Norte has already had a price freeze for the BNPCs under its monitoring as early as December 22.
As prices in the market are regularly tracked, retailers and vendors who have complaints on any pricing matter related to agri-fishery products may opt to address their concerns through CAO’s focal person Nilda Sanchez’ contact number 0926-5817-883 or LPCC’s hotline number 0955-160-1489. (CRG/PIA-Lanao del Norte)-rir
