MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) has ramped up efforts to ensure consumer protection following reports of rising meat and vegetable prices in the weeks leading to Christmas.
"We have been conducting strategic operations against those involved in any activity that takes advantage of our citizens this holiday season in coordination with concerned government agencies," acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement Sunday.
Nartatez said police officers have been deployed to public markets, supermarkets and wet markets to deter hoarding, profiteering and potential panic-buying.
The PNP is coordinating with the Department of Trade and Industry and local government units to monitor price movements, support inspections and prevent illegal profiteering, he added.
Nartatez said intelligence-driven operations are being conducted to target hoarders and syndicates that artificially inflate price, in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to safeguard the welfare of consumers while ensuring uninterrupted access to essential goods. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)