City to hold summit to address inflation

CEBU, Philippines — Due to the "inflation" that the country is facing, the Cebu City government is looking at organizing a Food Security Summit soon.

The summit will be attended by non-government organizations, farmers, concerned government offices, among others.

"Our country, even in many parts of the world, is beset with inflation. It is our duty to safeguard our city from its impact," said Mayor Michael Rama, in a statement.

He said that food sustainability is very important.

"We gather producers from the backyard, farms and agro-industries so we can come up with a Food Security Master Plan that will lay the foundation of sustainability of food supply with stable prices," Rama added.

The city government will also form a research committee where its members will conduct a study on supply and demand gaps.

In addition, the mayor will also implement frequent price monitoring that will involve citizens down to every household.

"The city will not hesitate to prosecute price speculators, hoarders, and opportunist traders who, through their machination, dictate prices and spoil free markets," he said.

The local government will also check more idle lands and encourage more cooperatives and partners through a public-private partnership to convert these areas to viable agro-tourism and agro-industrial zones.

He added that the city government will establish additional farms to market roads, and pursue the cable car system for mass transport to the uphill villages.

"These will substantially reduce the cost in the transportation of products to the urban lowland. Lesser cost in terms of transportation means lesser prices of our food products," he said.

To ensure the availability of goods, the city government will secure the flow of food and other goods from elsewhere in the Visayas and Mindanao, and from Cebu to these areas.

He directed the concerned city hall departments, offices and special bodies to pursue the said plans to organize things with the aim to mitigate the effects and contain inflation through non-monetary means.

Rama will also tap former city councilor Alvin Dizon to help the city's food security programs.

Dizon authored the Food Bank ordinance which the council passed in August 2020, as a way to improve food security during the pandemic.

"As mayor, I ask everyone in every household to rationalize and prioritize your expenses and consume as you require. Fighting inflation needs community support," Rama said.

Rama has asked the public to be a part of the solution.  (FREEMAN)