It has been a month since super typhoon Odette devastated parts of the Visayas and Mindanao, but until now many homes, buildings, and establishments have yet to completely rebuild or merely conduct repairs.
Even long after the debris has been cleared and some utilities restored, construction materials are still in high demand, especially G.I. sheets, plywood, and nails, among others.
The thing with items in high demand is that they tend to be pricey. While this is a natural law of the market, Filipinos tend to take it up a notch and gouge prices. We see this usually happen after every disaster. In effect, these price gougers, these opportunistic vultures are adding more to the misery that is already there.
The price gouging is something we can see for ourselves, in some areas G.I. sheets that used to be sold at between ?200 to ?300 each are now being sold by some unscrupulous retailers by as much as ?800 each.
If that isn’t robbery without a gun, we don’t know what is.
According to a report in this newspaper, the Department of Trade Industry-7 has issued 76 Letters of Inquiries and 11 Notices of Violations to retailers of hardware and construction materials for violating the price freeze order.
These letters and notices are good, but they should lead to something more; the arrest and conviction of price-gouging merchants.
We all know that sometimes the dog barks but doesn’t bite, meaning that in many instances the government is so fond of issuing warnings and notices to wrongdoers, but doesn’t really do anything to go after them.
Nothing would send chills up the spine of vultures more than seeing some of their own arrested for the same crime they are committing. Of course, we know that arresting and prosecuting is beyond the DTI’s power, but coordinating with the police should be just a phonecall away.
Instead of just showing teeth, let the law bite this time. People tend to forget the bark but not the bite.