OZAMIZ CITY: The provincial office of the Department of Trade and Industry, through Maritess Alcampado, development specialist, has intensified its price monitoring in the province in an effort to check unscrupulous price increases by businessmen.
Alcampado said they are anticipating an increase in all commodities in the wake of unabated oil price increase in the world market and the sporadic swelling of rice price in the locality.
The DTI regularly monitors prices of basic and prime commodities, like coffee, iodized salt, canned sardines, detergent bar and laundry soap, construction materials, processed milk, flour and gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas.
But Alcampado admits in an interview with PHILIPPINE PREVIEW they cannot focus their attention on the monitoring of prices of rice since under RA 7581, this is the mandate of the agriculture department.
With regards to implementation, DTI is more active in RA 7394, the Consumer Act, apprehending non-compliant business establishments who do not use price tags, use of candies as loose change and absence of a freshness seal on foodstuffs.
Alcampado also was invited by the city council last Monday to lay out DTI’s role in the the control of rice prices after councilors uttered their apprehension on the rice price increase being complained by the public.
With Alcampado attending the session is DTI provincial caretaker Ruel Paclipan, who stressed that his office at present is closely monitoring market prices, dishonest traders and retailers.
“So far in the last three months there is an increase in basic necessities and prime commodities but it is not alarming,” Palipan related, adding they are watching closely the increase of price of flour.
A DTI memorandum provided by Alcampado to this paper said that dwindling worldwide wheat production due to global warming may have caused the price of the product to increase.
The United States, Canada, Australia and Argentina are the biggest suppliers of wheat but at present, according to the DTI letter, a 30 percent drop in its supply has been noted along with ocean freight transportation rates at a record high.
In Ozamiz City, for example, all bakeries are now selling pan de sal at P2 as a result of the increase of flour price to almost double.
On top of these actions by the city council and DTI showing concern on the rice price increase problem is the adoption of Gov. Loreto Leo Ocampos of the Misamis Occidental Rice Task Force (MORTF) under his Executive Order No. 11-08.
Chaired by Ocampos with NFA Manager Avelino Orseno as vice-chair and with all the mayors, village chairs, police and media as members, MORT will see to it that NFA rice is not converted to commercial rice.
Ocampos clarified that MORT will to look into the short-term and long term solutions on rice problems in the province.
The short-term solutions include efficient distribution of NFA rice, preventing its conversion to commercial rice and request local government units in properly distributing NFA rice.
“We do not have problems on rice supply since the country has sufficient supply of rice but if there is no proper intervention, shortage will happen in the future” Ocampos said.
The governor said that rice hoarding, at present is happening and this is hurting the supply of rice and made rice prices swell up, to which Vice Mayor Carlos Patricio Bernad said DTI should be highly involved in price monitoring, especially on rice.
MICHAEL MEDINA, WITH ARCHIE AJIAS