Senator Erwin Tulfo raised an alarm on Sunday regarding widespread reports of price hikes on basic necessities, accusing some retailers of exploiting weak government monitoring to bypass the current national price freeze.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently implemented a price freeze—originally slated to run through mid-April but extended to May 10—to protect Filipino households from the inflationary impact of escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Despite the policy, Tulfo noted that many smaller establishments and local markets are failing to comply.
“A business owner might think, ‘I sell in a small market and the government does not reach this point in monitoring so I can just raise my selling price,’” Tulfo said in a statement.
Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, emphasized that these local groceries are often the only accessible options for daily sustenance for many families.
He warned that without strict oversight, the price freeze becomes a “paper policy” that offers no real relief to the poor.
“Filipino consumers are yet again left with no choice but to adjust the family budget because these markets, local groceries, are the most accessible places for them to buy goods for daily sustenance,” the senator added.
The DTI’s current price stability pact includes a broad coalition of industrial heavyweights and major supermarket chains that pledged to absorb rising operational costs.
However, Tulfo argued that the DTI must move beyond voluntary agreements and conduct more aggressive “boots-on-the-ground” inspections to catch violators in grassroots communities.
“Heed the call of our kababayans. A simple check of social media sentiments should give you an idea that there are various areas not applying the price freeze. What stops you to inspect these areas personally?” Tulfo asked.
The senator’s warning follows his previous calls for the government to brace for a “double whammy” of rising costs as the Middle East crisis drags on.
He urged the DTI to utilize its enforcement powers under the Price Act and Executive Order No. 110 to ensure that the current 60-day freeze on essential items like canned goods, bread, and soap is strictly upheld nationwide.