House bill exempting noodles, LPG from price hikes filed

MANILA, Philippines — Two members of the House of Representatives have filed a bill meant to amend a 31-year-old law that they say unnecessarily burdens the masses due to the repeated high cost of basic commodities, ironically even during calamities.

House Bill 7977 authored by Reps. Brian Raymund Yamsuan of Bicol Saro party-list and LRay Villafuerte (Camarines Sur) want liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), instant noodles, potable water in containers and kerosene excluded from the list of products with surging prices.

The measure, whose objective is to amend Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act of 1992, aims to protect consumers from “unwarranted price increases” of these basic goods, especially during times of calamities.

Including these four items on the list of basic necessities covered by the regular monitoring of the Price Coordinating Council (PCC) will definitely go a long way, according to the two administration legislators.

“The Price Act is due for an update. The Price Act has not included ‘new’ goods that, by virtue of their mass and necessary usage, qualify as basic necessities,” Yamsuan and Villafuerte wrote in their bill’s explanatory note.

HB 7977 provides a mechanism for greater flexibility in including or excluding types and brands of goods on the list of basic necessities or prime commodities.

In Section 3 of the Price Act, the list of basic necessities include rice, corn and bread; fresh, dried and canned fish, and marine products; fresh pork, beef and poultry meat; fresh eggs, fresh and processed milk; fresh vegetables, root crops; coffee, sugar, cooking oil, laundry soap, detergents, firewood, charcoal, candles, and drugs classified as essential by the DOH.