IN the continuation of its motu proprio inquiry of the onion price manipulation, the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, , cited in contempt Super Five Cold Storage officials George Ong and Michael Ang after being unable to justify their absences in previous hearings and submitting incomplete documents.
The Super Five officials shall be detained at the House of Representatives detention center for 10 days.
During the hearing, lawmakers surmised that some traders, private custom brokers, cold storage facility owners, and freight forwarders are plotting with each other to manipulate the market movement and price of agricultural products.
In her presentation, Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo showed that the shortage of onions last 2022 was only very modest, based on the data coming from the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
According to her, some personalities “bully” farmers through the excessive importation of onions prior to the harvest season, followed by systematic reservations for cold storage facilities by a few people or groups.
Quimbo filed House Resolution 681, seeking the conduct of an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the alleged anti-competitive practices and cartel in the onion industry and the sufficiency of the interventions of the Philippine Competition Commission on the matter.
GABRIELA Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas filed Resolution 673 earlier on the same subject.
Several resource persons, including trader Lilia Cruz, other representatives of Super Five Cold Storage, Tian Long Corporation, and Rivson Coop Storage Inc. were unable to attend due to medical reasons.
House Medical Director Dr. Luis Jose Bautista was summoned earlier to visit Ms. Cruz and Ms. Lamata to determine whether their current conditions justified their absence from the hearing. He confirmed the validity of their medical conditions but assured the panel that they will be able to attend the hearing in 10 days based on his assessment.
The panel will also issue subpoenas to obtain invoices of all the supermarkets in Metro Manila. The panel is currently in its sixth hearing.
