SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Tuesday called for further refinement of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) price-monitoring system to ensure that official data reflect market realities.
“Our agencies have price monitoring mechanisms, but we must make sure that the price tag is visible in the market in this monitoring. Right now, it seems that the price monitoring estimate does not match the real price in the markets,” Romualdez said in Filipino.
Reacting to recent feedbacks from various industry stakeholders, the Speaker noted that the DA’s Bantay Presyo data show large white chicken eggs priced at P8–P9 apiece.
“But we see in the wet markets that eggs are sold at P9-11, and in some supermarkets, it can go up to P12,” Romualdez explained.
“Why is there a price difference of P1, he noted, emphasizing the significance of a P1-variance.
“We know that the DA is doing their best to monitor the prices, but maybe, it is better that we increase our monitoring mechanism. We want to further improve the service to our countrymen,” Romualdez said.
“Every peso counts. We need to correct it so that the market is shown clearly,” Romualdez said, adding that accurate, real-time data is critical not only for effective policy-making, but also for preserving consumer-confidence.
He stressed that integrating more direct input from local vendors and market operators could bridge the gap between official figures and realities on the ground.
Romualdez expressed belief that a synchronized approach was necessary to rectify the oversight.
The Speaker reassured the public that Congress’, upon instruction of President Marcos, to work alongside the government agencies in refining the price monitoring system.
Romualdez said his call for improvement is a step toward building a more transparent and reliable economic system.
