BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Reports persist that overpricing is rampant in Negros Occidental areas hit hard by super typhoon “Odette”.
The Provincial Price Coordinating Council thus plans to recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte to impose a price ceiling on prime commodities.
Products and/or services planned for inclusion in the recommendation are water refilling, power generator sets, meat, and poultry among others, according to Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz.
With many areas in southern Negros still without power, the price of generator sets skyrocketed as demand for them soared.
The price of chicken, on the other hand, reportedly ballooned to P240 per kilo in southern Negros. Diaz said they were waiting for the official report from the Provincial Agriculture Office.
The recommended price ceiling would be based on the prices three months ago, with a maximum of 10 percent increase only, Diaz said.
The price freeze so far being imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry only covers basic commodities, he added.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson serves as price council chairman. He previously appealed for the cooperation of local traders, urging them not to take advantage of the situation by raising their prices.
On Dec. 21, President Rodrigo Duterte placed Western Visayas and five other typhoon-hit regions in the country under a state of calamity.
“The declaration of a state of calamity will hasten the rescue and relief and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector including kung saan galing tulong, be it outside or tayo-tayo lang,” Duterte said.
This will also be an effective mechanism to control the prices of goods and commodities in the areas, added Duterte.
Aside from Western Visayas, also placed under a state of calamity are Region IV-B (MIMAROPA), Region VII (Central Visayas Region), Region VIII (Eastern Visayas Region), Region X (Northern Mindanao), and Region XIII (CARAGA)./PN
