Please note that we only checked on face masks due to Taal eruption. If markups are made for face masks, how much more for other consumer products?”she said in a Viber message. Regular surgical masks have also become hot items, as they are seen as an alternative to the N95 masks that quickly sold out. According to Castelo, a regular surgical mask that would normally cost P1 per piece was found to be selling at P3.60 each. Without these, she said they had “no way of knowing how much they really purchased these items from their supplier.”This, she added, was considered an act of illegal price manipulation, based on the Price Act.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 14, 2020 20:03 UTC