Former speaker and Taguig-Pateros 1st District Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano has asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to urgently conduct a probe on the price increases of basic commodities in the country, saying that it is “another tragedy in the making.”

He laments that the increase in prices of basic goods are being felt deeply by millions of Filipinos who were rendered jobless, poor, and hungry by the pandemic and made homeless by recent typhoons and natural disasters.

“With a third of Filipino households reporting hunger and a quarter of businesses wiped out last year, the upward trend in the prices of our basic goods is another tragedy in the making,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday.

Currently, he said, the vaccines, the delivery of the public services, and the spike in the price of basic goods are some of the concerns that must be prioritized as the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and its crippling impact on our economy.

“Per recent reports, inflation across the country is quickly, inexplicably picking up as the prices of many of our basic commodities are rising rapidly,” Cayetano said.

“The figures are alarming. In December last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority observed a 3.5 percent increase in the price of basic goods.”

He said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas had expected such increase due to rising prices of oil and agricultural products, “but it is one thing to look at the numbers on a spreadsheet, and quite another when you see the effect on the faces of our kababayans.”

He said for each Filipino family to be self-sufficient and happy, the key problems that people confront every day must be addressed and these include high prices, joblessness, and inadequate income.

“Many of our citizens cannot eradicate the pangs of poverty by themselves. We call on the Department of Trade and Industry to seriously and immediately look into the ongoing trend of price hikes and act swiftly on the issue,” Cayetano said.

"We also invite our fellow political leaders to join us in ensuring that no Filipino will be left behind in our efforts to feed our people and heal our land. We are faced with a grave crisis, whose length and breadth is not yet known. We all need to stand together now if we are to meet and overcome this challenge.”

Cayetano said his office has always been committed to providing Filipino families with the tools and means to emerge from poverty."Through the Presyo, Trabaho, at Kita/Kaayusan (PTK) program, a micro-lending initiative that has provided seed capital to hundreds.