Mayor Edgardo Labella made his announcement to indefinitely suspend operations at the two trading posts late this afternoon and after the Department of Health in Central Visayas announced that 109 of the 119 coronavirus disease 2019 cases that were reported in Cebu City today came from Barangay Suba.
Councilors Jessica Resch and Eduardo Rama Jr. earlier called for the closure of the Suba Fish Port to especially secure occupants of the nearby Pasil Fish Market from the threats of the infection.Mayor Labella stood his ground that there was no need to close the fish port for now. Jonil Matuguina, head of the Cebu City’s Market Authority, told CDN Digital that the temporary closure of the Suba Fish Port and the Pasil Fish Market will not result in the increase in the prices of fish and other marine products.Matuguina said that Cebu City residents will not also be deprived of seafood because they can still buy their supplies from the Carbon Public Market.
“Let us not immediately panic. This is just like any disaster or calamity, like typhoons or monsoons, that we expect a bit of decreased supply . Anyway, the price for all commodities have been frozen by the Department of Trade and Industries , there is no reason why prices can go too high,” Matuguina told CDND in a phone interview.