Senator Imee Marcos has warned of looming shortages not only of food but also of medical equipment if sellers and panic buyers who can afford to hoard them are not stopped.
Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on economic affairs, expressed support for an order of the Department of Justice to the National Bureau of Investigation to probe cases of alleged hoarding of oxygen tanks particularly in Cebu.
She also cited an information in Aklan where oxygen tanks and their accessories were running out even as their prices have increased amid surging cases of Covid-19 infection.
To prevent sellers from jacking up prices, Marcos called for another 60-day price freeze on essential goods and medical supplies and equipment as soon as possible.
The senator said the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine National Police should step up monitoring of commercial hoarders as well as shoppers who are hogging limited product supplies in groceries, supermarkets, and specialty stores, to the disadvantage of other consumers.
Hoarders and profiteers face imprisonment and fines under the Consumer Act or Republic Act 7394 and the Price Act or Republic Act 7581.
“Under the Consumer Act, if found to have committed an unfair and unconscionable sales act or practice, an administrative sanction of up to P300,000.00 may be imposed and/or imprisonment of up to one (1) year.