RETAILERS WERE WARNED over the weekend to sell "noche buena" products at prescribed prices or else face profiteering probes.
Consumers were likewise urged to report stores that carry items like ham, canned fruit, dairy and pasta ingredients -- used in traditional Christmas eve feasts -- at over suggested retail prices (SRP), the Trade department said in a notice last Saturday.
"Retailers selling above the set SRP will be dealt with accordingly, pursuant to Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act," the notice read. "Consumers are advised to carefully check the weight and the price tag of products before purchase."
Under the law, those found to have committed "illegal price manipulation" face penalties of up to 15 years’ jail time and P2 million in fines.
The notice specified prices for 12 products with costs differing depending on the brand and weight. Sought for comment, a supermarket group said the guide prices should be easy to follow.
"[Deliveries and stocking] have been very smooth and [run] without a hitch," Steven T. Cua, president of the Philippine Amalgamated Supermarkets Association, Inc., said in a telephone interview yesterday. --Jessica Anne D. Hermosa
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