SEN. Erwin Tulfo has called out some retailers for allegedly defying the price freeze imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) amid high prices of basic commodities caused by the oil crisis.
The price freeze would be in effect until May 10. Tulfo on Sunday urged the DTI to conduct inspections of groceries and neighborhood stores to ensure strict compliance of its policy.
Included in the price freeze are canned sardines, canned meat, coffee, processed milk, instant noodles, condiments, laundry and toilet soap, candles, salt, batteries, bottled water and bread.
Under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, automatic price controls apply only under specific conditions such as a state of calamity or similar emergency declarations.
The senator said that some retailers have become emboldened to hike prices due to their belief that government monitoring would not reach local markets.
“A business owner might think, 'I sell in a small market and the government does not reach this point in monitoring so I can just raise my selling price',” Tulfo said in a statement.
He said that those most affected by the high prices are the average Filipinos who "rely on local neighborhood stores for their daily needs." “Filipino consumers are yet again left with no choice but to adjust the family budget because these markets, local groceries, are the most accessible places for them to buy goods for daily sustenance,” he said.
Tulfo said a simple check of social media sentiments would give the DTI "an idea that there are various areas not applying the price freeze." "The price freeze is supposed to complement the multi-pronged approach of the government amid the ongoing tensions. We can provide aid, but if the prices are being manipulated, this becomes non-sense," he added.
Price freeze violators may face administrative charges, fines, or imprisonment, according to the extent of the violation, he said.
