An association of Catholic business leaders will curtail price gouging by setting a cap on prices during the Christmas shopping season.
MANILA, Philippines — A group of Catholic business leaders in the Philippines has forged an agreement to implement a cap on the prices of goods and commodities during the Christmas holiday season.
The group of more than 3,000 entrepreneurs said the decision was made in order not to take advantage of the high demand during the Christmas season, reported UCA News.
People in the Catholic-majority nation are expected to begin partying in early December, which tempts businesses to raise the prices of commodities due to high demand.
Capping the price of goods and commodities reminds “each member of the association that although we are in business for profit, we still have a moral obligation to our fellow men,” Larry Valdez, president of the Catholic Businessmen Association of the Philippines, told UCA News.
Valdez said the groups would release a table of prices that its members would follow in selling goods commonly used during Christmas.
“Millions of Filipinos — rich or poor — are working hard to provide food on the table during the Christmas season. The money that they are going to spend is hard-earned. Thus, it should not be taken advantage of by profiteers,” Valdez added.
Valdez’s group had responded to the call of the country’s Catholic bishops, who urged business establishments not to engage in profiteering during the Christmas season.
“The birth of the Lord is fast approaching. It is proper to prepare for it in a special and particular way. While we wait for Advent, let us not forget that Christmas is not an occasion to take advantage of the poor. … Profiteering makes the rich richer and the poor poorer,” the bishops said in their statement.
The business association also asked the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure compliance with the Price Act, a law that prohibits hoarding and manipulation of prices of basic commodities.
Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual said that the agency would act against those who would seek to make hefty profits.
Featured image: People shop at a toy store in Manila, Philippines, Dec. 14, 2020. A group of Catholic business leaders in the Philippines has forged an agreement to implement a cap on the prices of goods and commodities during this year’s Christmas holiday season. (CNS photo/Lisa Marie David, Reuters)
