Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

Allison Co, ABS-CBN News

Allison Co

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — While many have set New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, shoppers at Kamuning Public Market in Quezon City faced a hurdle this Sunday, January 4, as prices for fish and vegetables remained high.</p><p>Among the produce that saw price increases are tomatoes and calamansi, now priced at P220 per kilo from the previous P180. Tomatoes now cost about P15 per piece, while calamansi is priced at P5 each.</p><p>Baby Jimenez, 78, was among the disappointed consumers after finding out about the price increase.</p><p>“Paano mo malalagyan ng maraming calamansi para sa Vitamin C nila kung P5 isang piraso? Sampung pirasong kalamansi, P50 na yan,” she said.</p><p>(How can I give them a lot of calamansi for Vitamin C at P5 per piece? That&#x27;s already P50 for ten)</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:514px;height:649px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2007600358093402301&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-01-04T01%3A01%3A38.610000%3A2c8dadca-c1e4-43cd-8b80-d878692b57b2%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=91e09ca808cc858105950979c491402ea18d3d4c&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2007600358093402301"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>The minimum wage in Metro Manila is either P658 or P695, depending on the industry one works in.</p><p>According to vendors, the increase in vegetable prices is due to limited supply.</p><p>“Hindi siya season, summer kasi maraming mga (kamatis), yung kalamansi naman pag tag-ulan tsaka marami,” explained Ariel Lubiano, who has been selling at Kamuning for 16 years.</p><p>(They&#x27;re out of season. There are more tomatoes in the summer. There is a bigger supply of calamansi during the rainy season)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/1/2/agri-dept-expanding-p20-rice-program-this-year-1550">Agri dept expanding P20 rice program this year</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>GALUNGGONG ALSO PRICEY<br/></strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, for those who want to eat less red meat, fish prices have also increased. Galunggong, the &quot;poor man’s fish&quot;, now costs P400 per kilo.</p><p>George Serrano, a fish vendor for 25 years, said the price of galunggong is the barometer for other fish.</p><p>“Pagka medyo bumaba yung galunggong medyo nahahatak niya pababa (ang presyo ng ibang isda).”</p><p>(When the price of galunggong dips, it pulls down the prices of others)</p><p>Tilapia is priced at P160 a kilo while bangus remains high at P240 a kilo. </p><p>Vendors said prices are likely to remain high in the coming days.</p><p>To cope with the high prices, consumers are forced to either settle for cheaper food items or reduce their purchases to stay within budget.</p><p>“Basta tipid lang, pinagkakasya ko lang... May gusto ka na isda hindi mo mabili kasi mahal, dito ka na lang sa mumurahin,” said 52-year-old Emma Rigla, who goes to the market weekly.</p><p>(I just try to make it fit our budget. You want a certain kind of fish but you can&#x27;t buy it because it&#x27;s expensive, so you get a cheaper kind)</p><p>Jimenez meanwhile linked the prices to flood control corruption and to the billions in taxpayer money allegedly lost to substandard and &quot;ghost&quot; projects.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/3/cabral-s-death-shows-need-to-better-secure-witnesses-testimonies-lawyer-1030">Cabral’s death shows need to better secure witnesses, testimonies — lawyer<br/></a></div><p>“P15 isang piraso ng kamatis? Mr. President, all the contractors (linked in corruption), ibalik niyo na lahat ng pera namin. Maawa kayo sa mahihirap.”</p><p>(Tomatoes at P15 a piece? Mr. President, all the contractors involved — return our money. Have pity on the poor)</p><p>Even as the nation waits for accountability, those seeking healthier options in the new year will have to pay more.</p>

<p>While many have set New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, shoppers at Kamuning Public Market in Quezon City faced a hurdle this Sunday, January 4, as prices for fish and vegetables remained high.</p>

While many have set New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, shoppers at Kamuning Public Market in Quezon City faced a hurdle this Sunday, January 4, as prices for fish and vegetables remained high.

Limited supply, cold weather drive up food prices in Quezon City market

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Limited supply, cold weather drive up food prices in Quezon City market

Allison Co,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 04, 2026 09:44 AM PHT

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Kamuning Public Market

Quezon City

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