THE provincial government warned commercial establishments and local traders not to jack up prices of basic commodities especially in typhoon-stricken northern Cebu.
Since Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III鈥檚 declaration placing the whole province under calamity status is still in effect, a price freeze applies to all basic commodities, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said.
鈥淣o, they cannot do that because we are still in a state of calamity. You can be jailed if you鈥檙e proven doing that,鈥� she told reporters yesterday. Magpale said she has yet to receive reports of price increases in the affected areas.
But in Medellin town, northern Cebu prices of a few staple food products went up in the local market. A kilo of fish which cost P180 before the typhoon now sells at P250 to P300 depending on its 鈥渇reshness,鈥� a source who requested anonymity said.
A gallon of purified drinking water costs P45 from its previous price of P25. But a liter of gasoline is still P55, the same source said./Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos