PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN – Despite a reported spike in retail prices, local authorities stated there is no need to impose price limits on pork because there is no shortage of the item.
This was in response to a sudden rise in pork prices in less than a week, going from PHP280 to PHP350 per kilogram.
City legal officer Norman Yap stated there is no justification for the local government to impose arbitrary price controls on pork during a Tuesday Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) hearing.
He explained that such a move is only acceptable when the supply is seriously impacted, like during an animal disease outbreak.
The municipal government’s investigations found that the hog farmers’ choice to sell their produce to customers outside of Palawan, where the pigs are being bought at more profitable prices, is the issue’s root.
“We cannot impose a price control absent any emergency or crisis. The law is quite clear on that. We have to establish whether there is an emergency or crisis before we can seek measures such as price control,” Yap explained to the city councilors.
The hearing was held in response to a request from vendors that the city government set a price cap on hog farmers and regulate sales outside the city to guarantee a consistent supply of pork.
During the same session, Councilor Elgin Damasco, the head of the Sanggunian Committee on Agriculture and Food Security, stated that hog farmers, traders, and vendors have all attested to the fact that there is an ample supply of pork.
“If buyers are not able to compete with the offer, it is not proper for the local government to force or command the seller to sell to a buyer unwilling to meet their price,” the councilor said after hearing Yap’s testimony.
Damasco also stated that the government can only step in when there is price manipulation, such as hoarding, cartel activities, or profiteering.
He continued by saying that the only body with the authority to set selling prices is the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC), which must obtain permission from the President’s Office.
According to Damasco, a significant contributing factor to the increase in pork retail prices is the growing cost of feed and other swine farming inputs.
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