The government is mulling the possibility of imposing a price ceiling on galunggong or round scad and other fish products as the prices of basic food items appear tohave skyrocketed in recent months.
A kilo of galunggong, which used to be the poor man’s fish, is now P250 in some markets. The suggested retail price of galunggong should only be P140.
“Sa pagkakaalam po namin (As far as we know), the Department of Agriculture is also working closely together with the BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources), with our different fisherfolk groups and organizations. At minomonitor po natin ang presyo ng pagkain (And we are monitoring the prices of food). This is something that the DA is on top of,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said during a press briefing on Thursday, March 4.
Nograles added that the government has to monitor the different prices of food when a price ceiling is imposed on a particular food product.
Last month, President Duterte set a 60-day freeze on the prices of pork and chicken, but this move has been met with ire by local producers. Executive Order No. 124, which the President signed on February 1, set the price ceilings to P270 per kilo for kasim and pigue, P300 per kilo for liempo, and P160 per kilo for dressed chicken.
“We will await kung ano ang magiging hakbang or ano yun magiging action points of the Department of Agriculture tungkol po dito (We will await for the Department of Agriculture’s steps and point actions about it),” Nograles said.
In another briefing, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque explained that the price of galunggong is usually higher during the cold season because of less catch. The government, he said, expects the supply to get a boost this summer season.
“Hindi tayo mag-aatubili na mag-angkat din ng galunggong (We are not going to be quick to import galunggong).”