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The government is ready to import galunggong (scad fish) if necessary amid its rising prices in the market, Malacanang said on Thursday.

"If needed, we won't hesitate to import also galunggong, which we did before, just to have sufficient supply and for the price of galunggong not to increse too much," said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a televised press briefing.

The price of galunggong, which was once dubbed as the viand of the poor, reportedly rose to as high as P280 per kilo during the past days.

Roque, however, noted that prices of galunggong and other fish usually go up whenever the weather is cold because of the low supply.

"But we expect that our fishermen could increase their catch since summer is approaching," he said.

In a separate media briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said possible imposition of price ceiling on fish was not discussed during the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday night.

But he said the Department of Agriculture is surely monitoring the situation.

"The Department of Agriculture is also working very closely with BFAR (Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources) with our different fisherfolk groups and organizations and we are monitoring the prices of food. So, this is something that the Department of Agriculture is on top of," he said.

Duterte has imposed a 60-day price ceiling on selected pork and chicken products after their prices soared early this year. Celerina Monte/DMS