Price cap urged as inflation hurtled past forecasts

A consumer advocacy group led by a former trade official called anew for a price ceiling on selected basic goods after inflation surged to its highest in more than nine years.

In a text message to reporters, Laban Konsyumer Inc. president Victorio Dimagiba said the government could arm itself with the Price Act to justify the move. The law provides mandatory price ceilings in certain worst case scenarios.

He said this should be applied to certain goods such as rice, sugar, chicken, milkfish, canned goods, milk, bread, flour, cement and steel bars, among others.

“Laban Konsyumer Inc. keeps  pushing for the imposition of mandated price ceiling under sections 7 and 8 of the Price Act,” he said.

Official data released yesterday showed the country’s inflation rate soared to 6.4 percent in August, the highest in nearly a decade.

Dimagiba, a former undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, made a similar appeal in August following inflation data in July, which also broke past expectations.

The Price Act provides the President may impose a price ceiling on any basic necessity or prime commodity upon recommendation from an implementing agency or the Price Coordinating Council.

Among other conditions, this provision could be activated in the “impendency, existence or effect of any event that causes artificial and unreasonable increase” in the price of a certain good.

This price ceiling could also be imposed when the prevailing price of a basic necessity or prime commodity “has risen to unreasonable levels.”

Dimagiba said the government should punish profiteering, hoarding and cartel behavior committed at any stage of the supply chain.

He said these acts could be committed at the level of the producer all the way to the “vendor and “talipapa” (market).”

He said there should also be a price action officer who should monitor price movements.