The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has recorded 100-percent price compliance among traders and retailers on the suggested retail prices of goods from September 2019 until this month.

During the House plenary deliberations on the agency’s proposed 2021 budget, Bukidnon 3rd District Rep. Manuel Zubiri, vice chairperson of the House Committees on Appropriations, and Trade and Industry, relayed that the price compliance is 100 percent from Sept 2019 to Sept. 2020.

“Sa monitoring, ‘yung SRP (suggested retail price) system, 100 percent compliance, from September to September of last year and this year, wala pong nag-increase as per DTI so sinusunod po ang SRP,” he said.

(Based on the monitoring, in the SRP system, there is 100 percent compliance, from September to September of last year and this year, no one imposed price increase as per DTI so the SRP is being followed.)

The information was relayed after Gabriela partylist Rep. Arlene Brosas asked the measures put in place by the DTI to provide financial relief for the consumers during this time of pandemic crisis.

“Sasapat ba ang SRP lamang? Samantalang nag-declare na ng health emergency at ngayon nag-declare muli ang Pangulo. Bakit walang aksyon, walang ginagawa ang DTI para magkaroon ng relief kaugnay sa presyo ng mga bilihin,” Brosas said.

(Is SRP enough? Since the health emergency has been declared and now, the President declared it again. Why is it that there is no action, that the DTI is not doing something so that the consumers will have relief in terms of price of the basic commodities.)

She said DTI should implement "price freeze” to ensure that the consumers will be financially relieved during this time of global health crisis.

Zubiri apprised the plenary that the DTI is not implementing price freeze.

“There is no price freeze, pero SRP ang talagang pinapasunod nila sa lahat ng mga nagbebenta po dyan sa buong bansa. (but the SRP is being implemented among the merchants nationwide.) They don’t have any price freeze, as of the moment,” he said.

He expressed the House’s commitment to work with the DTI to ensure that price compliance among manufacturers of basic goods and commodities will be fully enforced.

“I understand the need to make sure that people don’t take advantage of our populace, that people don’t take advantage of the situation. I will make sure and will let them know, babantayan po natin ang presyo ng basic goods (we will closely monitor the price of basic goods),” he said.