LUCENA CITY, Quezon -- A provincial lawmaker is pushing the creation of the Provincial Price Coordinating Council here.
Quezon Board Member Lawyer Ferdinand ‘Bong” Talabong’ said the legal basis of the said ordinance is the Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act which aims to ensure the availability of prime commodities at reasonable prices at all times.
It also aims to provide effective and sufficient protection to consumers against hoarding, profiteering, and cartels with respect to the supply, distribution, marketing, and pricing of goods, especially during periods of calamity, emergency, widespread illegal price manipulation, and other similar situations.
Talabong said that the move was recommended by the Department of Trade and Industry in Quezon during the joint committees hearing of Trade and Industry and Agriculture.
Talabong said the existing Municipal Price Coordinating Council in Quezon province, particularly in Atimonan, Sampaloc, and Lucban, effectively monitored and regulated the price of basic commodities in the said towns by putting the posting recommended Standard Retail Price in the public markets and other relevant places.
During a regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Monday, Jan. 9, Talabong emphasized that there is a need to assure the Quezon consumers of basic commodities at reasonable prices.
Talabong principally authored the said ordinance with the joint committees on Trade and Industry and Agriculture that created the Provincial Price Coordinating Council (PPCC).