Beef, pork, and chicken are sold at Nepa-Q Mart in Quezon City on Jan. 21, 2021, amid rising prices of basic goods. Labor groups called on the government to urgently raise the minimum wage amid the rising prices during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA - The Department of Agriculture (DA) has extended the implementation of price cap for pork and chicken until next month as the government continues to ease inflation.
The price ceiling for pork and chicken will be effective until April 8, Agriculture Secretary William Dar told reporters Monday.
Lifting it will result in a rise in prices given that the African swine fever crisis is still raging and continues to impact production nationwide, he said.
Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte imposed the following price caps on select meat sold in the National Capital Region:
- Pork shoulder and legs: P270/kilo
- Pork belly: P300/kilo
- Chicken: P160/kilo
"The current retail prices of basic necessities in the National Capital Region such as pork and chicken have increased significantly, causing undue burden to Filipinos, especially the underprivileged and marginalized," Duterte's Executive Order No. 124 read.
Despite the price cap, Philippine inflation surged to a 26-month high in the first months of 2021, hitting 4.7 percent in February from 4.2 percent in January and almost double the 2.6 percent in the same period last year.
Malacañang earlier called the uptrend "temporary."
"We are intensifying efforts to ease inflation through immediate interventions... We have implemented pro-active measures," Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
- with a report from April Rafales, ABS-CBN News
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