Even if it has recently released an official price guide for Noche Buena items, the Department of Trade and Industry on Monday admitted that manufacturers disobeying the price guide are not subject to any sanctions.

This was amid television reports that prices of jamon de bola, queso de bola, mayonnaise and fruit cocktail are way higher compared to the price guide that was released by the DTI last 22 November 2023.

In an interview, Trade Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles said the DTI cannot impose sanctions or penalties on manufacturers disregarding the price guide, as Noche Buena items do not fall under the basic necessities and prime commodities being regulated by the agency under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act.

"The price guide is only a guide that covers special Christmas items, so we cannot sanction manufacturers who do not abide by the price guide. We cannot also regulate them with those special items. However, there are many reasons why some Christmas products are high, just as when the listed price of retailers is higher, and manufacturer's additional costs were not considered during the release of the price guide," she said.

"But based on our monitoring last week, walang pagtaas sa jamon de bola, queso de bola, mayonnaise, and fruit cocktail. The source of the report is just one or two (supermarkets), and we are still verifying the report. We even talked today to a manufacturer's group to report these alleged increases and they said they want to know where these supermarkets are and they, themselves, will talk to the retailer," she added.

"The report that some items have increased their price is surprising for us because when the DTI did its rounds on supermarkets last week, some Noche Buena prices were even lower than the price guide, even in Divisoria," she maintained.

Compared to last year, Nograles said some Noche Buena items for this year maintained their prices, while some products increased their prices by a minimal one to five percent.