Price freeze depends on LGUs -- DTI
An automatic price freeze on basic goods and prime commodities will automatically kick off in areas declared under state of calamities by respective local government units, according to Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
Lopez said this during the Laging Hand Public Briefing in Malacanang, Friday, Dec. 17, the morning after Super Typhoon Odette hit some Mindanao and Visayas regions.
As of Friday, Lopez said, all DTI regional offices reported that supplies are not affected. But, he stressed the need to closely monitor that passage and supply chain are not hampered to avoid increases in prices of basic goods and prime commodities (BNPCs).
“As of last night, there is no increase in prices and supply is okay,” he said.
Meantime, Lopez said that he has been in constant dialogue with manufacturers of BNPCs as he acknowledged that the suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin of BNPCs has remained the same since 2019.
He explained though that as consumer representative, DTI will balance also balance both side of manufacturers and consumers.
He urged manufacturers to submit their justification for price adjustments so that the Consumer Policy Advocacy Bureau of the DTI can study their petition. He explained that DTI has already a formula on cost item changes in prices.
“As representative of the consumers, we negotiate with firms so that ifever there is a need to increase prices, we can temper it and not allow the entire cost to be passed on to consumers,” he said.
The DTI only adjusted by 3-5 percent some SKUs of Noche Buena products, but not the entire BNPC SRP bulletin.
He said they continue to monitor the Noche Buena SRP to ensure no one violates the price range. DTI is also promoting brands that did not raise prices.
So far, Lopez said, there has not been any complaint of overpricing or selling above SRP as supermarkets remove products from shelves that are selling higher than the SRP. “So, we can say there is 100 percent implementation and compliance,” he said.
Meantime, Lopez shared his observation on the recovery of the domestic economy as most establishments are allowed to open and people, including kids, can go out to malls already.
Thus, he said, there is no need to bring the Alert Level system to Level 1 from the current Level 2 as he explained the need to continue enforcing the minimum public health safety protocols, particularly social distancing and wearing of masks.
Already, retail establishments are reporting that 80 percent of their customers are back and expects 100 percent as Christmas approaches. “So, there is no need for Level 1,” he said. This also means that more workers are going back to work.