Photo Release

On inflation due to pandemic: Sen. Imee Marcos, in a virtual hearing Tuesday, September 28, 2021, on the proposed P24.7 billion budget of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its attached agencies for Fiscal Year 2022, asks the assurance of Trade Sec. Ramon Lopez Jr. on the unimpeded delivery of goods to prevent inflation. Marcos also inquired about the price stabilization measures that were implemented by the DTI to prevent spikes in prices of basic commodities. Lopez said the DTI makes a representation in the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to ensure that the mobility of cargoes will be unhampered during the pandemic. He admitted though that there was confusion, especially during the early days of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Lopez also told Marcos that there was a fluctuation in the prices of goods, especially in the products being sold in the market such as agricultural products. He said the DTI only covers manufactured products being sold in supermarkets and groceries and that it has no jurisdiction over convenience stores and sari-sari stores. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)