Five officials show their copies of a joint circular to guard against price hikes amid the pandemic. From left: Secretary Roy Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Secretary Eduardo Año of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Secretary William Dar of the Department of Agriculture, Secretary Ramon Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry and Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega of the Department of Health.
Five government agencies have signed a joint circular to monitor the supply and prices of basic commodities and allow local price coordinating councils to enforce suggested retail prices and price freezes.
The joint memorandum circular (JMC) is in line with the Consumer Act and Price Act and covers basic necessities and prime commodities, such as farm and fishery inputs and products, drugs, and wood and forest products, officials said.
“With this JMC, we are strengthening, even more, the power of the local price coordinating councils tasked to monitor the supply and prices of basic food items, as well as enforce the suggested retail price (SRP) and ‘price freeze’ policies in their respective localities,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement.
The roles of the LPCCs include :
- checking regularly public and private markets, and authorize barangay officials to monitor abnormal price adjustments;
- analyzing factors affecting price fluctuations and endorsing measures to arrest unjustified price increases and supply shortages; and
- proposing maximum price points for regulated commodities to the National Price Coordinating Council.
The circular was signed by secretaries Eduardo Año of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Roy Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, William Dar of the Department of Agriculture, Francisco Duque III of the Department of Health and Ramon Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry. Jojo Mangahis