DTI: 10% of stores in Siquijor not compliant with price ceiling
SIQUIJOR, April 23 (PIA) — At least 10 percent of the stores inspected last week in the province of Siquijor were not compliant with the price ceiling set by the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC) here, said Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Provincial Director Angeline Pauline Gonzalez during the “Straight from the News” special interview hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in Siquijor province.
Gonzalez said out of the 42 stores, 24 percent (10 stores) were non-compliant, particularly with the price ceiling for alcohol, rice, fish, pork and vegetables as revealed during the first inspection conducted by the LPCC team on April 16, 2020 in the towns of Siquijor, Larena, Maria and Enrique Villanueva.
The Provincial LPCC team is composed of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and Philippine National Police (PNP).
Gonzalez said few days after the President’s declaration of the state of emergency, the LPCC in Siquijor has convened, reactivated, and set a price ceiling on prime commodities including products under the jurisdiction of the other regulatory bodies such as the DA for rice and other agri-fishery products, and DOH for medicines, among others.
She lauded the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) and Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) for actively participating with DA, DTI, and DOH in closely monitoring the prices of farm, meat, and fishery products, processed goods, and medicines provincewide.
She said the move is to protect consumers against undue price spikes while the country is under a state of emergency due to COVID-19.
Gonzalez asked both the consumers and businessmen to help the province beat the crisis.
“We should heal as one, all of us have our our own social responsibility to help each other,” Gonzalez said as she encouraged the consumers to stop panic buying and the retailers to comply with the price ceiling.
“This is just temporary, nagpasalamat mi sa 18 stores nga hingsunod sa price ceiling (we are thankful to the 18 stores that complied with the price ceiling),” she said.
She said Siquijor province is lucky that there has been no COVID-19 positive cases and it has ample food supply per inventory so there is no reason for the public to resort to panic buying.
She also asked the consumers to bring directly to the right agencies any complaints or reports of erring retail stores instead of spreading it through social media as this would only create chaos instead of solving the issues.
Gonzalez explained that not all products are under price control so consumers can choose their brands. “Ingkaso ug mahal kaayo ang inyong nakita, pangita a tong naa sa under sa price ceiling (In case you find a certain product expensive, look for another brand under the price ceiling),” she said.
The reactivation of LPCCs is one of the measures to monitor and forestall the excessive and unreasonable price spikes of basic and prime commodities. (rac/PIA7-Siquijor)
source https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1039784