SENATOR Imee Marcos said Tuesday, November 29, 2022, that the national government is looking for means to address the problem related to the rising prices, especially of food items in the country.
Marcos was in Bago City on Tuesday for the distribution of financial assistance for individuals in crisis situations.
According to Marcos, the rising prices is a "nightmare" to Filipinos, pointing out that even the basic trinity in Filipino cooking like onions, garlic and tomatoes were not spared from the price hikes.
She noted that onions alone already cost more than P300 per kilogram.
Marcos said they have already asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) to urgently begin importing enough onions until the country's primary onion producing provinces can start their harvests.
At the same time, Marcos said, the supply of fish also took a hit.
She pointed out that the country also needs to import fish products with the exception of milkfish or "bangus" and tilapia so as not to hurt those involved in aquaculture.
"It's going to take awhile, we need to get importations out," she said.
The rise in food prices is further aggravated due to a looming economic recession, high cost of fuels which economic experts attributed to the continued war between Russia and Ukraine.