Philippine Senator Francis Pancratius N. Pangilinan on Monday urged the government to enforce a strict price freeze and intensify crackdowns on hoarders, profiteers, and cartels as the strong El Niño phenomenon threatens to push up food costs.

El Niño, a climate pattern marked by unusually warm sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, typically brings reduced rainfall and prolonged dry spells to parts of the Philippines, placing pressure on agricultural output and food supply.

Mr. Pangilinan called on the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, and the Price Coordinating Council to heighten market monitoring, enforce applicable price freezes, and impose price ceilings when warranted to protect consumers from unreasonable price hikes.

“An impending calamity — which will only bring further hardship to our fellow citizens, especially farmers and fisherfolk who also shop at the markets — should not be used as an opportunity for profit,” the senator said in a statement.

Citing Section 6 of Republic Act No. 7581, also known as the Price Act, Mr. Pangilinan said prices of basic necessities in areas declared under a state of calamity are automatically frozen for a maximum of 60 days. The 1992 law covers a wide consumer basket — basic necessities range from staple foods such as rice, corn, fresh fish, and eggs to cooking oil, sugar, and medicines — and because the freeze is automatic, an official state-of-calamity declaration alone switches the protection on in a covered area, without a separate pricing order. Violating a government-mandated price freeze carries sanctions of one to 10 years' imprisonment, fines of P5,000 to P1 million, or both.

He added that relevant government agencies and authorities must also investigate and prosecute individuals and entities engaged in hoarding, profiteering, and cartel operations that exploit drought and water shortages to manipulate food supply and prices.

Under the Price Act, hoarding, profiteering, and cartels involving basic necessities are prohibited, with illegal price manipulation punishable by imprisonment of five to 15 years and fines ranging from P5,000 to P2 million.

Mr. Pangilinan emphasized that all mechanisms protecting consumers from inflated prices must be paired with safeguards for food production and the livelihoods of farmers and fisherfolk, who are particularly vulnerable to prolonged drought and water shortages. How the episode plays out at market level will turn on identifiable government steps: which areas are placed under a state of calamity, activating the automatic freeze; whether the named agencies move from monitoring to formal price ceilings; and how enforcement against hoarders, profiteers, and cartels proceeds. — Francessca S. Abalos

This report was first published by BusinessWorld Online.