House joins PBBM’s war against smuggling, hoarding of agri products

THE House of Representatives will do all it can to help President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. wage the war against the smuggling and hoarding of rice and other agricultural products, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said Tuesday.

“We share the President’s anger and frustration with smuggling, hoarding and price manipulation. We will redouble our efforts to stop the smuggling and hoarding of rice, sugar, onions, garlic, and vegetables, which harms our farmers’ competitiveness and disrupts the agricultural value chain,” Speaker Romualdez, leader of the 312-member House of Representatives, said.

“Kami sa Kongreso ay tutulong sa Pangulo para mapigilan ang pagtaas ng presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin. Lahat ng kaya naming gawin ay ibubuhos namin sa misyong ito,” Speaker Romualdez said.

“We shall safeguard the interests of our farmers and our people in general, ensure equitable market conditions, and foster sustainable farming methods to guarantee our nation’s food security,” he said.

The House leader reiterated the President’s warning that the days of smugglers, hoarders and price manipulators are now numbered.

He noted that under President Marcos, the agriculture sectors has started to grow.

“Masigla at patuloy na umuunlad ang sektor ng agrikultura. Napababa natin ang presyo ng mga pagkain mula sa agrikultura at napapataas naman ang kita ng mga magsasaka at mangingisda,” he said.

He vowed that the House would continue to monitor consumer prices.

“We will continually check on prices, especially of staples like rice, vegetables, meat, onions, and garlic, to protect our people from hoarding, price manipulation, unreasonable price increases, and other practices in restraint of trade that hamper competition,” Speaker Romualdez said.

“That is part of our oversight function. We have the appropriate tools to carry this out, including conducting follow-up hearings and summoning suspected hoarders, smugglers and cartel leaders if needed. We will not shirk from our duty to help our people,” he said.

The Speaker called on the concerned departments and other state offices and banks to assist farmers in obtaining technology, funding, equipment, and inputs to improve their harvest and boost the supply of agricultural products.

“Needless to say, if there is sufficient supply, it would not be profitable for traders to resort to hoarding and similar anti-competitive activities,” he stressed.

Early this year, the House Committee on Agriculture conducted an inquiry into the high prices of onions, which had jumped to as much as P600 a kilo.

The committee uncovered evidence pointing to the existence of a cartel behind the surge in prices in 2022 and this year.

The cartel is supposedly composed of a few trading companies controlled by a certain Lea Cruz, who has earned the label “Sibuyas Queen.” The group reportedly resorts to hoarding, price-fixing and coordinated release of opinions in the market to manipulate prices.

Summoned by the investigating committee, Cruz, who had been dragged in previous congressional inquiries, denied any wrongdoing. She claimed her participation was limited to helping farmers transport their produce.

The President vented his anger on smugglers and hoarders in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

“Hinahabol at inahahabla natin sila. Sadyang hindi maganda ang kanilang gawain at hindi rin ito tugma sa ating magandang layunin,” he said.

“Pandaraya ang kanilang ginagawa. Napapahamak, hindi lamang ang mga magsasaka, kundi tayo rin na mamimimili, kaya hindi natin papayagan ang ganitong kalakaran…Bilang na ang mga araw ng mga smuggler at hoarder na yan,” he said.