By Minka Klaudia Tiangco
Manila City Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso ordered the Manila Business Processing Office to issue show cause orders against merchandisers who allegedly sold overpriced facemasks.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso
(Manila City Public Information Office / MANILA BULLETIN)
Earlier, the local government received reports that some stores have been selling face masks, originally priced at P30, up to P200.
"'Yang mga tinitinda niyong mask, nasa bodega niyo lang 'yan. Mura niyo 'yan binili, kaya dapat tama lang ang presyo ng pagbenta niyo (Those masks that you are selling were just stocked up in your warehouses. You bought those cheap, so the price should be right when you resell them)," he said.
"Hindi ko po papayagan ang pangaabuso sa ganitong pagkakataon (I will not allow abuse to take place in this kind of situation)," he added.
Domagoso said that should they fail to explain themselves, their permits may be revoked.
Authorities are now working to distribute the few remaining stocks of face masks in the city, the city mayor said.
"We started sending, providing some that's left in our stocks, in our hospitals or health centers in the city government. But we will acquire more to provide you gas masks," he said.
"This is to set precautionary measures that, we're thinking, at the very least, in our own little way, to minimize the health hazards of the silica or sulfuric materis in the surface of the city," he added in a mix of English and Filipino.
Furthermore, the Manila city mayor ordered authorities to monitor market prices of basic goods to ensure that prices do not spike, and assured residents that there is enough supply of food and other necessities in the city.
He also bared that the city council just passed a resolution for the local government to extend "a few millions" to at least five municipalities that are affected by the Taal volcano eruption in Batangas.
On Sunday, Taal Volcano, a popular tourist destination in Batangas, belched out an ash cloud that drifted across neighboring areas, including Metro Manila.
Volcanic ash, when inhaled, can cause difficulty in breathing, severe coughing, throat and nose irritation, and even eye and skin irritation.