THERE is an urgent need for the price coordinating councils in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City to convene amid the reported escalation in prices of basic goods and services, a local labor leader said.
Aside from rice and fish, consumers are currently suffering from high prices of milk, canned goods like sardines, and even medicines, Wennie Sancho, secretary-general of General Alliance of Workers Association (Gawa), said Thursday, August 23.
Sancho said price coordinating councils, both in the province and city level, should immediately convene so that all concerned agencies like the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), among others, could assess whether there is already an economic crisis.
“Through this meeting, we can also have basis whether the suggested retail prices (SRPs) are still applicable to the current economic situation,” he said, claiming that “it seems that the Local Price Coordinating Councils are not doing anything amid the pressing escalation of prices of products.”
For the province level, the Local Price Coordinating Council is chaired by Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. with the DTI as one of the member-agencies.
Other provinces in the country have already declared a state of calamity mainly due to the damage brought by the recent calamities like typhoons.
In Zamboanga City, a state of calamity was also declared due to shortage in rice supply.
Prices of fish products in Metro Manila reportedly surged resulting in the importation of 17,000 metric tons of “galunggong” as a measure to neutralize local market costs and ensure efficient supply.
Sancho said, “let us not wait for these scenarios to happen in Negros Occidental.”
Thus, there is a need for the Local Price Coordinating Council to convene in order to preempt possible “emergencies” that may occur especially with the surging prices of basic goods, he said.
“Unfortunately, it seems that our leaders are already busy for the 2019 elections as manifested by meetings with their respective political groups,” Sancho said.
He added that “they forgot the welfare of the public, especially the poor, who are now suffering from the worsening economic condition.”