DTI Albay reminds public to avoid panic-buying of face masks

LEGAZPI CITY –– The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Albay has reminded the public to avoid panic-buying of surgical face masks following the confirmation of the first case of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) in the Philippines.

Leah Pagao, director of DTI Albay, said they deployed a monitoring team in the province to check the supply of face masks.

“Let us advise the public to avoid panic buying,” she said.

Pagao said based on their monitoring, supplies are still available in big stores and there were no reports of overpricing since Thursday.

“There were no reports of overpricing since monitoring. The price ranges from 5 to 10 pesos per piece,” she added.

She said they already advised the stores to limit the distribution to at least 10 pieces per customer to avoid depletion of supply.

“Orders have been placed by these outlets and they are waiting for the delivery,” she said./lzb