PRICE FREEZE | Sotto urges Duterte to order price freeze in Typhoon Odette aftermath

December 21, 2021 , 05:39 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(December 21, 2021) – The leader of the upper house of Congress on Tuesday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to order a price freeze on basic commodities, including fuel, in areas affected by Typhoon Odette, warning some unscrupulous business owners are taking advantage of the crisis.

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who is running for vice president, said the government must act fast to stop some business owners from taking advantage of a shortage in food and water supplies to raise prices of commodities such as rice and potable water, which are urgently needed by affected residents.

“Importante na laging alerto ang mga opisyal ng gobyerno sa mga pang-aabuso na maaaring maganap sa gitna ng krisis,” Sotto said in a statement. “Hindi na kailangan pa ng dagdag na pasanin ng ating mga kababayang nawalan na ng kaanak at bahay ng dahil sa bagyong Odette.”

Minority senator Francis Pangilinan, who is also seeking the vice presidency, shared the same sentiment, calling on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to issue a price freeze order without having to wait for local governments to declare a state of calamity.

Some locals and tourists in Siargao Island, where Typhoon Odette made its first landfall, have been dealing with rising prices of food, gasoline, and transportation, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) secretary Martin Andanar said.

“Mahalagang unahan na ng pamahalaan ang mga taong ito sa pamamagitan ng pag-impose ng price freeze sa mga lugar na tinuligsa ng bagyong Odette,” Sotto said.

Under the 1992 Price Act, an area placed under a state of calamity will immediately put price control in place, which was made to protect consumers against undue price increases as they grapple with any emergency situation.

Areas declared to be under state of calamity include Cebu and its independent cities Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu City, Bohol, Guimaras, Butuan City, Southern Leyte, Negros Occidental, and the municipality of Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte.

Typhoon Odette, with the international name Rai, caused widespread destruction and deaths along its path in Visayas, northern Mindanao, and Palawan. The disaster agency reported 156 dead and around half a million displaced. But the national police said the death toll was at 375.

President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to raise P10 billion to support the rehabilitation and recovery of affected areas, his spokesman Karlo Nograles said, not long after he said that the country is running out of funds for calamity response, a claim disputed by some lawmakers.

(MM)

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