The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said they are ensuring that the buffer stocks of onions, pork, and other commodities are sound due to the continued uptick in prices.

"(During the meeting) we were able to point out that the target for the buffer stocks is onion, pork, and fertilizers, aside from rice, corn, and sugar," DTI's Consumer Protection Group Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles said during a meeting of National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) on Monday.

She said the goal of this, in addition to creating a market-based mechanism to decrease the price by increasing the supply, is to deter hoarders and those who are engaged in illegal price manipulation.

Nograles said that this would be the first time that the government would invoke the provision on buffer stocks since the Price Act was implemented.

The NPCC convened its second regular meeting to discuss critical measures to ensure the stable supply and reasonable pricing of basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPCs) for Filipino consumers.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier said that the baseline inflation rate forecast of 3.8 percent remains within the government's target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for this year.

Although the Department of Energy (DOE) anticipates a surplus in the oil supply, the NPCC continues to monitor the ongoing tensions in the Middle East and the Red Sea.

These tensions are expected to drive higher freight rates and insurance costs.

To combat hoarding, NPCC chairperson, DTI Secretary Fred Pascual highlighted the Department of Agriculture's proposed Implementing Rules and Regulations of Section 9 of the Price Act, as amended, aiming to allocate buffer funds in its annual appropriations exclusively for procuring, purchasing, importing, or stockpiling essential commodities such as rice, corn, pork, sugar, onion, and fertilizer.

Secretary Pascual also secured support from the Philippine Consumer Centric Traders Association Inc. and the DA to strengthen linkages between farmer cooperatives and retailers.

For their part, the DA presented the salient features of the National Farm-to-Market Roads Network Plan 2023-2028, which aims to address a 64,155 km backlog in farm-to-market roads over five years.

Meanwhile, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) updated on the implementation of Executive Order No. 41, S. 2023, titled "Prohibiting the Collection of Pass-Through Fees on National Roads and Urging Local Government Units to Suspend the Collection of Any Form of Fees Upon All Types of Vehicles Transporting Goods Under Section 153 or 155 of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991."

So far, 32 LGUs have complied with EO 41 and committed to reconvening its technical working group.

Furthermore, Pascual praised the DILG's efforts in activating Local Price Coordinating Councils in 1,335 LGUs.

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), on the other hand, provided an update on their ongoing study on the Suggested Retail Price, expected to be finished by September 2024.

The study focuses on commodities significant to consumers, based on the latest 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey.

"Consumer protection remains at the forefront of the National Price Coordinating Council's efforts to stabilize the supply of basic goods at reasonable prices for every Filipino family. I have directed the Council to prioritize policy actions that address price and supply gaps," said DTI Secretary Pascual.

As one of the implementing agencies of the Price Act, with the DTI Secretary as chair, the DTI is mandated to coordinate and rationalize government programs aimed at stabilizing prices and supplies of BNPCs.