In Cebu City: 15 vendors risk losing stalls for profiteering

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Legal Office (CLO) has directed 15 market vendors to explain why they should not be sanctioned for alleged profiteering.

City Legal Officer Rey Gealon said these vendors may face stall closure or termination of their lease contract at the market.

The CLO received the endorsement of Market Administrator Jonil Matuguina indicating the names of the vendors, as well as the overpriced commodities.

Gealon said citation tickets were issued at four public markets in Capitol, Talamban, Pardo, and Quiot.

He said the Market Operations Division enforcers rounded up these public markets last week and found out that prices of eggs, fruits and vegetables, among other market products, were "absurdly high" compared to the prices in the matrix issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

"City Ordinance No. 2486, otherwise known as the 'Cebu City Market Code of 2007' considers this unreasonable and unconscionable price increases as prohibited acts which likewise carries with it an administrative penalty," Gealon said.

Eggs, fruits, and vegetables are among the basic necessities enumerated in Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, which protects consumers by stabilizing prices of basic necessities and prime commodities during emergency situations and occasions.

Under the law, Basic necessities include rice; corn; bread; fresh, dried and canned fish and other marine products, fresh pork, beef and poultry meal; fresh eggs; fresh and processed milk; fresh vegetables; root crops; coffee; sugar; cooking oil; salt; laundry soap; detergents; firewood; charcoal; candles; and drugs classified as essential by the Department of Health.

Gealon said Mayor Edgardo Labella is relentless in his policy of "price freeze" in this time of crisis, which is why he has a marching order regular inspection and monitoring of all public markets in the city.

Labella also adopted the price freeze policy for basic commodities implemented by the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Department of Health (DOH) through joint memorandum circular no. 2020-01 dated March 18, 2020, which penalizes "any person or entity found to have violated the price freeze with a fine ranging from P5,000 to P2 million and imprisonment of 5 years to 15 years, without prejudice to the prescribed penalties and sanctions issued by the local government units."  JMO (FREEMAN)