No sanctions for retailers joining 'pork holiday' for now —Agri exec

There will be no sanctions, at least for now, for retailers who would participate in the "pork holiday" protest against the price cap on food commodities imposed by the national government, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes said Monday.

Interviewed on Unang Balita, Reyes said the department is currently monitoring the situation on the ground amid the implementation of the price ceiling in Metro Manila.

"Wala po naman (parusa) at hindi natin mabibigyan ng paratang muna dahil nagmo-monitor lang po muna kami," he said.

To address the needs of Metro Manila consumers, Reyes said pork products from Mindanao, Oriental Mindoro, Iloilo and Batangas are set to arrive, the earliest being on Monday afternoon.

For frozen imported pork products, Reyes urged consumers to look for the National Meat Inspection Service seal to ensure that the pork is of good quality.

Effective February 8, a price cap per kilogram of P270 will be implemented for kasim and pigue, P300 for liempo, and P160 for dressed chicken as mandated by Executive Order (EO) 124 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this month.

Many retailers protested the price cap, calling it too low.

The price ceiling was proposed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as pork and chicken prices have continued to increase despite the price freeze implemented late last year amid the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

Teams from the Local Price Coordinating Council are set to visit wet supermarkets within the day to inspect compliance with the price ceiling, Reyes said.  —KBK, GMA News