Speaker Martin Romualdez appealed to market vendors yesterday to follow the suggested retail prices of essential goods, which usually spike during the holiday season.

Romualdez made the call following a surprise inspection at Farmers Plaza in Cubao, Quezon City, with Deputy Majority Leader for Communications Erwin Tulfo.

The leadership of the House of Representatives has vowed to monitor markets to ensure compliance with the SRP set by the government to stop the overpricing of basic commodities, especially food.

"Rice and other noche buena items must be affordable. Vegetables such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, cabbage, and others must be within the means of our countrymen," Romualdez said.

Conducting surprise market inspections, according to the Speaker, could prevent price gouging by retailers during the Yuletide season. It is also part of the oversight function of the House to combat inflation, he added.

"The Christmas season is meant to be a time of giving and compassion, and we want to make sure that prices of goods are affordable to the great majority of our people," Romualdez said.

He said the prices of vegetables and meat remained steady, except for the cost of rice, which he said has gone up.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture said the cost of well-milled and regularly milled rice will be pegged at P48 and P41 to P43 per kilo, respectively, in December.

On the other hand, prices of several noche buena items, such as ham, fruit cocktail, among others, had gone up based on the Department of Trade and Industry's price guide released last week.

"We will continue the all-out war against profiteers preying on hapless consumers," Tulfo said.

In August, Romualdez, Tulfo and officials of the Bureau of Customs carried out a surprise inspection of several warehouses in Bulacan in the wake of a spike in the price of rice due to hoarding.