LGUs told: Mobilize disaster, price councils

MANILA, Philippines - Provincial governors, city and municipal mayors and barangay heads in Luzon were urged to immediately reactivate their respective disaster coordinating and price monitoring councils to address the devastating effects of tropical storm “Ondoy.”

Acting Interior and Local Government Secretary Melchor Rosales called on the chief executives of affected local government units (LGUs) in Luzon to exert vigorous effort to mitigate the effects of typhoons and other calamities by instituting measures on disaster readiness.

“LGUs should activate the local price coordinating councils or to organize these councils where there are none, to protect consumers from unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of the situation,” he said.

“Local officials must also address hoarding and exorbitant and unreasonable price increases of essential and prime communities through regular inspections of public and private markets (and) rice warehouses,” he added.