Live: Senate hearing on rising food prices
MANILA, Philippines — Senate panels are holding an inquiry on Monday morning into rising food prices to try to find ways to manage the cost of basic goods through legislation.
The committees on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform and on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship will hold the hearing, which was prompted by separate resolutions filed by Sens. Leila De Lima, Francis Pangilinan and Imee Marcos.
"The prices of agricultural commodities in the market continued to climb as Filipinos welcomed the new year," De Lima said in her resolution.
"The Department of Agriculture's price watch showed increases in vegetable and meat prices by as much as 66% from December 2020 as supplies across all food commodities have tightened for several reasons," she also said.
De Lima said the "increase in the prices of these basic commodities is an extra burden for those whose income had fallen because of the economic shocks brought about by the pandemic such as loss of employment and underemployment."
READ: House inquiry sought on rising pork prices
A similar resolution has been filed at the House of Representatives by Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo (Marikina). In filing her resolution last week, Quimbo said year-on-year inflation rate for meat rose to 9.95% in December 2020 from 8.15% the previous month, and that by January 2021, retail pork prices have increased by as much as 55% from the same period last year.
Aside from moves in the legislature to look into price increases, President Rodrigo Duterte is also expected to issue an executive order to put price caps on pork and chicken. The EO may also cover other basic goods.
Watch the Senate hearing live at 9 a.m. on February 1, 2021.
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