AFTER placing Bacolod City under a state of calamity following the devastation caused by Typhoon Tino, Mayor Greg Gasataya issued Executive Order (EO) 071 constituting the Bacolod City Local Price Coordinating Council (BCLPCC), defining its composition, functions, and for other purposes.
Gasataya, who signed the EO on November 7, 2025, said Bacolod City recognizes the need to institutionalize a coordinated, data-driven, and sustained mechanism to monitor prices and supply, undertake enforcement actions with concerned national agencies, and protect consumers and legitimate businesses within the city.
He said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and other national government agencies have issued joint guidance, including Joint Memorandum Circular 03, s. 2020, enjoining local government units (LGUs) to activate and strengthen their LPCCs and to institutionalize regular monitoring, enforcement, and consumer protection programs at the local level.
He added that Section 16 (General Welfare Clause) and related provisions of Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, empower LGUs, through their local chief executives, to adopt measures to protect the welfare of their constituents, including ensuring the availability and reasonable prices of basic necessities and prime commodities and preventing acts of price manipulation such as hoarding, profiteering, and cartelization.
The BC-LPCC will be headed by the city mayor as the chairperson, with the head representative of DTI-Bacolod as its vice chairperson. Its members include the chairperson of the City Council Committee on Trade, Commerce and Industry; City Administrator; City Legal Officer; City Treasurer; City Budget Officer; City Planning and Development Coordinator; City Agriculturist; City Veterinarian; City Health Officer; City Social Welfare and Development Officer; City Engineer; City Permits and Licensing Officer; Public Information Officer; City Director, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); and director, Philippine National Police (Bacolod City Police Office).
It also includes representatives of concerned national government agencies operating in Bacolod City such as Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Energy, National Food Authority, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and from private sector.
The Office of the City Administrator, through the Economic Enterprise/Markets Office (or its equivalent), will also serve as the secretariat of the council, with technical support from DTI-Negros Occidental/Bacolod City Office.
The BC-LPCC was tasked to coordinate, integrate, and oversee local implementation of price and supply stabilization measures for basic necessities and prime commodities; establish and maintain a citywide price and supply monitoring system, including regular market and establishment inspections; collect, validate, and submit reports to DTI and other concerned national agencies; and recommend to the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC), through DTI and other competent agencies, the imposition of price ceilings and other appropriate measures during emergencies or abnormal market conditions.
It was also tasked to recommend the initiation of enforcement actions against acts of price manipulation (hoarding, profiteering, cartelization) and other violations under the Price Act and related issuances, in coordination with DTI, DA, DOH, DENR, DOE, PNP, and the City Prosecutor's Office; conduct information, education, and communication (IEC) activities for consumers and businesses, including dissemination of DTI Suggested Retail Prices (SRP) bulletins and relevant advisories; recommend local policy measures and ordinances to the City Council to support price stabilization and consumer protection programs; and perform such other functions as may be authorized under the Price Act, its IRR, and subsequent national directives and issuances. (MAP)