The Department of Agriculture (DA) is stepping up its campaign against food price manipulation, issuing show-cause orders to several vendors in Manila and Quezon City for selling pork and onions above the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP).
On Wednesday, the DA issued show-cause orders to a pork vendor and onion sellers at Manila’s Obrero Market for charging prices beyond the government-mandated MSRP, giving them three days to submit their explanations.
This followed a similar operation a day earlier at Mega Q Mart in Quezon City, where DA market monitors, together with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine National Police, served notices to two onion vendors.
“This is just the first of several show-cause orders we will issue in the coming days,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said, adding that the MSRP provides fair returns while keeping basic goods affordable.
The DA said the MSRP aims to balance the interests of importers, traders, and retailers.
Current MSRPs are set at P150 per kilo for red onions, P120 per kilo for yellow onions, P370 per kilo for pork liempo, and P330 per kilo for pork pigue and kasim.
Before the imposition of the MSRP, onion prices had reached as high as P300 per kilo. Recent monitoring shows that while some retailers still exceed the ceiling, red onion prices have eased to between P150 and P240 per kilo.
Assistant Secretary Velicaria-Guevarra said investigations also cover distributors to prevent price inflation caused by anti-competitive practices such as cartelization.
Violators face penalties under the Price Act and the Consumer Act, including fines of up to P1 million per violation, imprisonment of five to 15 years for severe or repeat offenses, confiscation of overpriced goods, and possible revocation of business permits.
