Authorities dismantled last week the stalls of illegal vendors at the public market in Punta Princesa, Cebu City with the stern warning to the bona fide vendors that they can only continue selling vegetables if they don’t overprice them. “Ang instruction namo diri kay singko ra kuno amo pwede iginansiya. Di kuno palabi,” one vendor said.
Lo and behold. Many stall owners in Punta continue to violate the price freeze. One stall, in fact, was selling gabi (botig) at P140 per kilo, when it is normally sold for only P60 per kilo. And don’t even ask the price of the buwad.