ACT-CIS Rep. and senatorial candidate Erwin Tulfo on Sunday expressed support for placing suggested retail prices (SRP) on basic food items to prevent unwarranted price increases by unscrupulous traders.

“Some businessmen, like middlemen or brokers, are abusing the prices of certain foods, causing them to increase in the market or public markets,” Tulfo said.

“If you examine it carefully, the price at the farmgate or from the producers of rice, vegetables, eggs, and pork and chicken is cheap, but when it gets to the public market, it’s as expensive as gold,” explained Tulfo.

Tulfo, who, is running for senator under the Alyansa sa Bagong Pilipinas, added that “the price increases once it passes through the hands of the middlemen or traders before reaching the retailers at the markets.”

The lawmaker asked the Department of Agriculture to implement SRPs on basic food items such as rice, chicken, pork, fish, vegetables, and other commodities with prices that are always increasing.

“With the implementation of SRPs on some foods, we can ensure that the prices of products cannot be manipulated,” Tulfo explained.

During congressional hearings on high commodity prices in recent months, it was revealed that middlemen and cartels are driving the prices of basic food items, such as rice.

“The SRP will control how much middlemen, traders, or cartels earn, so the product remains affordable when it reaches the market,” Tulfo said.

The lawmaker added that once the prices of these commodities stabilize, the DA could remove the SRPs.