SAN JOSE, Antique – The municipality of Sibalom declared a state of calamity while Bugasong declared a state of public health emergency due rising cases of dengue.
The Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC) was subsequently reactivated by these towns to ensure that prices of basic and prime commodities will not be taken advantage of by unscrupulous business establishments.
The Antique Provincial Health Office reported a total of 1,170 dengue cases from Jan . 1 to June 25 with four deaths.
The town of San Jose has the highest number of cases with 262; Sibalom – 236; Hamtic – 146; and Bugasong – 121.
The rest of the towns in Antique have cases below 100.
The town of Hamtic reported two deaths, and one death each for Sibalom and Bugasong.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ric Noel Naciongayo and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Officer Broderick Train have called for the collective undertaking of families and local officials to undertake to clean up the drive to ward off the dengue mosquitoes.
On the part of the Department of Trade and Industry, it has provided technical support in the activation of the LPCC of the said municipalities for the imposition of the Automatic Price Ceiling (APC) for basic necessities.
The LPCC of the said towns has convened and the APC of basic necessities has been approved.
The power and functions of the LPCC involve the coordination and rationalization of programs to stabilize prices and supply of member agencies, recommend to NPCC or to the implementing agencies SRPs and/or the price ceilings for basic necessities and/or prime commodities in their respective areas, conduct in-depth analysis on causes for price fluctuations and recommend action steps to correct unwarranted price increases and supply shortages.
Due to the rising cases of dengue, the LGUs concerned need to procure medical supplies and materials for effective management and lower the risk of proliferation of dengue mosquitoes through its respective Calamity Fund.
With the imposition of Automatic Price Control (APC) or Price Freeze, daily monitoring of prices will be conducted to ensure store adherence to APC.
The APCs will be published through DTI and PIA FB pages and will be disseminated to the retailers in the affected areas. (PIA-Antique/PN)
