October 2009 Archives

WITH THE country reeling from a triple whammy calamity (flooding in the National Capital Region, flooding in Laguna, and flooding in northern Luzon), the last thing we would like to be hit with are price increases.

After Typhoon Ondoy unleashed its devastating effect, it was really kind of big business to lower prices. The day after the great flood, MRT charged only a flat rate of P10 regardless of whether one’s destination was near or far. Pan de Manila lowered the price of its pan de sal during the days after the deluge. Kalinisan Steam Laundry offered free laundry services to typhoon victims. Even SM malls and other malls waived the overnight fee for cars left in their carpark overnight when shoppers were stranded during the flooding.

So price increases after Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng have left the country really leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Two days before Ondoy came, my insurance broker gave me a quotation for comprehensive auto insurance. It had two options: with acts of God and without acts of God coverage. Paperwork was not finished that week, and so we dealt with it the week after. Well, what do you know, the insurance companies increased the premium prices for coverage of acts of God, such that the revised quotation now had two columns: Before Ondoy and After Ondoy, resulting in a P700 increase in premium in barely a week!

Now comes news that vegetable prices have hit the roof as a result of low supply due to the calamity up north. Potatoes at P200/kilo, anyone? Sitaw at P120 per kilo?! O my gulay!