BACOLOD City – The Alliance of Concerned Consumers in Electricity and Social Services (ACCESS) in Negros Occidental is urging the city and provincial governments to activate their respective Price Monitoring Councils under Republic Act (RA) 10623.
The said law mandates the protection to consumers by stabilizing the prices of basic necessities and prime commodities and prescribing measures against undue price increases during emergency situation.
ACCESS president Wennie Sancho urged the need for immediate action.
“The city and provincial government officials must call for an emergency meeting with the stakeholders to discuss price stabilization amidst the unabated increases in the prices of basic goods and services that was exacerbated by the sudden increases in the prices of petroleum products,” he said.
He said a taskforce should be formed to monitor prices, supply chains and energy market, adding that the government should educate the citizens about its initiative and price stabilization efforts to protect the welfare of the people,” he added.
“We are facing an economic downturn or crises that affects the economic survival of the population. The continued deterioration of the workers purchasing power due to inflation had greatly reduced the real value of the peso,” he claimed.
If the purchasing power of the workers would collapse, we will be facing an economic depression that would wreak havoc on the lives of the people, particularly the marginalized sector, the group further said.
ACCESS suggested that concrete measures in form of economic relief shout be implemented by the government.
Price control and regulation is necessary by establishing price ceiling for essential commodities to prevent profiteering, Sancho added./PN
