What does a declaration of a state of calamity do?
MANILA, Philippines — The declaration of a state of calamity puts in place measures like a prize freeze on basic goods and the Philippine National Police on Monday ordered police personnel to make sure price controls are followed.
Under the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, the declaration of a state of calamity imposes price caps on basic necessities and prime commodities and requires agencies to monitor and stop overpricing, profiteering and hoarding of food, medicines and fuel.
The same law defines a state of calamity as "a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to property, disruption of means of livelihoods, roads and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard."
PNP to help monitor prices
In a statement, Police Gen. Dionardo Carlos said that the PNP supports the Department of Trade and Industry in imposing an automatic ‘price freeze’ on goods in areas declared under state of calamity, adding that some individuals may take advantage of the calamity situation.
"Aside from post-disaster relief and rehabilitation operations and disaster management measures being carried out by the PNP, police units in the regional, provincial, city and municipal levels were given added duties to monitor prices of goods in their respective areas to ensure proper implementation of Republic Act 7581 or The Price Act," the statement reads.
As of this post, the local government units of Camarines Norte, Cebu, Bohol and Negros Occidental have declared a state of calamity in their localities in the aftermath of the destructive effects of Supertyphoon Odette.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, over 181,000 families have been affected by Odette days before Christmas. Separate figures by the Social Welfare Department say that over 480,000 are seeking shelter in evacuation centers, while 1.8 million Filipinos are listed as "affected" by the effects of Odette.
Items covered by the price freeze
The PNP chief pointed to Sections 6 and 7 of Republic Act No. 7581 or The Price Act, which provides that:
“Prices of basic necessities in an area shall automatically be frozen at their prevailing prices or placed under automatic price control whenever that area is proclaimed or declared a disaster area or under a state of calamity; and a price ceiling may be imposed on any basic necessity or prime commodity considering the impendency, existence, or effects of a calamity.”
Under the Price Act, basic necessities include the following:
rice; corn; bread; fresh dried and canned fish and other marine products; fresh pork, beef, and poultry meat; fresh eggs; fresh and processed milk; fresh vegetables; root crops; coffee; sugar; cooking oil; salt; laundry soap; detergents; firewood; charcoal; candles; and drugs classified as essential by the Department of Health.
Prime commodities, meanwhile, refer to the following goods:
Fresh fruits; flour; dried processed and canned pork; beef and poultry meat; dairy products not falling under basic necessities; noodles; onions; garlic; vinegar; patis; soy sauce; toilet soap; fertilizer; pesticides; herbicides; poultry; swine and cattle feeds; veterinary products for poultry, swine and cattle; paper; school supplies; nipa shingles; sawali; cement; clinker; GI sheets; hollow blocks; plywood; plyboard; construction nails; batteries; electrical supplies; light bulbs; steel wire; and all drugs not classified as essential drugs by the Department of Health.
Violations may yield penalties of imprisonment for a period of not less than one year nor more than ten years, or a fine of not less than P5,000 nor more than P1 million.
The Department of Energy has also declared a price freeze on household LPG and kerosene in light of the declarations of states of calamity in ares of the Visayas and Mindanao.
"This means that for 15 days following the SOC, prices shall remain at the prevailing levels on the date of the declaration. Consequently, the price roll-backs for these products will be implemented, while increases of any kind are prohibited during the 15-day period," the department said in an advisory carried by state-run Philippine News Agency on Sunday.
A declaration of a state of calamity also allows the programming or reprogrammign of funds "for the repair and safety upgrading of public infrastructures and facilitie" and the grant of no-interest loans to sectors most affected by the calamity.
Police mount post-disaster relief and rescue operations
The Philippine National Police said it also restored its communications with PNP Units in the Visayas, Mindanao, and Mimaropa regions after massive outages of telecom services in 704 areas.
"The PNP communication lines and supply continue to be operational in all Police Regional Offices, ensuring effective command and control to supervise and direct post-disaster relief and rehabilitation operations," Carlos said.
"Lessons learned from the Yolanda experience taught us to continue to maintain conventional communication systems as back-up for modern digital telecommunications infrastructure."
The PNP Command Center reported five PNP facilities damaged by the effects of Typhoon Odette in Eastern Visayas and Bangsamoro Autonomous Regional, while 210 PNP personnel were listed among victims.
In its report Sunday night, the PNP said it conducted 41 rescue and relief operations and rescued 563 distressed persons.
The PNP also tallied 7,201 evacuation centers where 2,432 families comprising 100,353 individuals have sought temporary shelter. — Franco Luna
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