Barangay officials asked to monitor retail prices of meat

Councilor Lilia Fariñas has proposed an ordinance deputizing punong barangays or their designated barangay officials to monitor retail prices of meat, meat products, and other goods including, but not limited to, pork, beef, fish, chicken, and poultry products in their barangays.
Under the proposal, authorized barangay officials shall coordinate with the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC) and report to the LPCC the up-to-date prices of said products in their areas of jurisdiction.
The barangay officials shall also be deputized to apprehend retailers violating the suggested retail prices (SRPs) as imposed by the local or national price coordinating councils.
One of the functions of the LPCC is the “regular inspection of public and private markets and the deputization of barangay officials and non-government organizations to monitor abnormal price increases, especially in their areas of jurisdiction.”
In 2019, the city government reconstituted the Baguio City Price Coordinating Council by virtue of Executive Order 87, s. 2019.
The deputation of barangay officials will help ensure retailed meat products and other goods are priced reasonably or fairly amid the shortage of meat supply brought about by the African swine fever, Fariñas said.
The ordinance was approved on first reading and referred to the committee on market, trade and commerce and agriculture.
Earlier, the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera told the city council it will not recommend a price ceiling for fresh meat in the city as it will force vendors to sell at a great loss.
The DA-Cordillera said prevailing prices of pork (lean meat and pork belly) in the city market range from P340 to P355. It peaked in the first week of February at a range of P360 to P380.
A surge of pork prices has been observed in the country in recent years due to the ASF outbreak which has significantly reduced hog population, and also due to community quarantines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The DA reported the first ASF outbreak in the country started in 2019 affecting various places, including the Cordillera. – Jordan G. Habbiling