Hoarders and profiteers, beware!
“Batangas Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza has filed House Bill 4617, which seeks to partially amend Republic Act 7581 (otherwise known as the Price Act),” reports Ben Rosario in Manila Bulletin.
In his proposed amendment, Mendoza aims to implement tough penalties for the acts of hoarding rice and corn, as well as profiteering.
In his explanatory note, Mendoza pointed out, “Rice and corn hoarding and profiteering further aggravate the destitute situations of the victims in calamity-stricken areas.”
As mentioned in the report, the bill “also imposes penalties for profiteering when a person raises the price of any basic necessity or prime commodity he sells or offers for sale to the general public by more than 10% of its price in the month immediately preceding a calamity or disaster.”
The report noted: “Mendoza proposed to penalize acts of hoarding and profiteering with 10 to 20 years imprisonment. A fine ranging from PHP100,000 to PHP500,000 was also sought.”
Photo from MorgueFile
