by Nimfa Estrellado January 11, 2022 Board Member Ferdinand Talabong (Photo from Provincial Government of Quezon) LUCENA CITY, Quezon — To ...
January 11, 2022
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| Board Member Ferdinand Talabong (Photo from Provincial Government of Quezon) |
LUCENA CITY, Quezon — To keep fish and other commodities prices in check, Board Member Ferdinand Talabong, a Quezon-based lawyer, is pressing for the constituting of the Provincial Price Coordinating Council (PPCC) in Quezon province.
Talabong stated that DTI Quezon recommended the move during a joint committee hearing with Agriculture.
Talabong asserted that the province should emulates the current Municipal Price Coordinating Councils of Atimonan, Sampaloc, and Lucban, which monitors and controls the cost of goods in the said towns by posting suggested Standard Retail Prices in public markets and other appropriate locations.
The PPCC was established on May 27, 1992 to ensure that consumers benefit more while keeping costs in the public market reasonable under the provisions of the Price Act covered by RA No. 7581.
According to DTI Quezon, the role of the PPCC will be to support the implementation of consumer welfare and protection programs and projects that will protect the consumers from destabilization of prices or undue price increases of Basic Necessities and Price Commodities (BNPCs) during emergency situations and like occasions.
Provincial price stabilization programs will be vital during disasters, calamities, local or Quezon-wide declared emergency situations in order to combat illegal price manipulation.
This council will be comprised of representatives from the Departments of Trade and Industry, Interior and Local Government, Food and Drug Administration, Environment and Natural Resources, BFAR, and OPA.
DTI Quezon also stated that the formation of the Provincial Coordination Council will result in synchronized coordination on price monitoring and consumer protection with LGUs and their respective Local Price Coordinating Councils (LPCCs). With LGU's assistance in the formation of the Price Coordinating Task Force, commodity price monitoring can be carried out on a regular basis.
The database from the LPCCs' Price Monitoring activities shall serve as the basis for the mandated price ceiling of goods and commodities during calamities, disasters, and emergency situations in the province's affected areas.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Provincial Agriculturist's Office (OPA) will also have more representation in this sector.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will monitor fish prices across the province in real time and compare them to current local prices.
Talabong was the primary author of the aforementioned ordinance, which was formulated by the joint committees on Trade and Industry and Agriculture.
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