Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appeals to the public against hoarding as food supply and prices are stable, even as retailers and consumers said rising fuel costs have otherwise resulted in a different market scenario.
Marcos personally visited the Agora Market in San Juan City on Wednesday, March 18, to check food prices.
“Dito lang sa Pilipinas, normal lang muna ang ating mga presyuhan,” Marcos said.
[Translation: In the Philippines, our price levels are normal.]
“Right now, we don’t have a problem sa [in the] supply with food. We don’t have a problem sa [in the] supply with petroleum products, including fertilizer for the farmers,” the president said.
“Everything is normal and we’ll just keep working to make sure that it stays that way para naman ‘yung kabuhayan nga ng ating mga kababayan ay hindi maapektuhan [so that the livelihood of our countrymen will not be affected],” he said.
He also said vendors have agreed not to raise prices, or even practice price gouging, with the Middle East conflict impacting global oil trade.
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Meanwhile, retailers said there have been adjustments in consumption behavior that affected their income because of big-time oil price hikes.
Evelyn Sadio, a fish vendor, said customers have resorted to buying less.
“Kami din kung minsan para makabili sila, kahit magbawas ng ₱10 pwede na para makabenta rin kami minsan matumal din eh,” she told NewsWatch Plus.
[Translation: Sometimes, we, vendors, would also lessen ₱10 in the selling price so that customers can buy our products, as we often experience slow sales now.]
Noli Sallan, a meat retailer, posted a new price list for pork meat. Compared to February, Sallan said the list shows increases from ₱10 per kilogram to ₱30/kg depending on the cut.
The 68-year-old vendor said possibly fewer customers may force him to maintain prices.
Logistics costs
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed increases in rice prices because of fuel costs.
He said the agency is recommending to the president a price cap of ₱50 per kilogram on imported rice to prevent profiteering.
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The secretary admitted that prices of agricultural commodities may not hold for long.
“We expect na tataas ng ₱2 per kilo at least lahat ng bagay dahil sa logistics costs ng fuel pa rin maparating ang produce sa ating market,” Tiu Laurel said in a chance interview during the Agora Market visit.
[Translation: We expect an increase of at least ₱2 per kilogram for all products because of logistics costs in fuel, to be able to deliver produce to markets.]
He said price controls will be considered as a stop-gap move.
“Baka temporarily wala munang kita lahat, at cost lang muna lahat para makatulong sa overall situation ng taumbayan,” he said.
[Translation: Perhaps, temporarily, everyone will sell at cost so that we can help in the overall situation.]
