SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday welcomed the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. for a probe on the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products pursuant to the findings of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food pointing to a cartel as the culprit.
On Tuesday, President Marcos ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the smuggling, hoarding, and price fixing of onion and other agricultural commodities.
“This is a welcome development, a decisive action that manifests the President’s resolve to clamp down on unscrupulous businessmen preying on hapless Filipino consumers and hampering his administration’s efforts to sustain the robust growth of our economy,” Speaker Romualdez said.
It was Romualdez who called for a congressional probe on onion smuggling after the prices of the agricultural product hit a record high of P700 per kilo in December last year.
“The President’s directive should be enough to deter further supply manipulation of agricultural products and help stabilize prices, especially amid reports that prices of onion are on the rise again,” Romualdez said.
“The House of Representatives is ready to provide our authorities with the data uncovered from our committee hearings to provide them a head start in their own investigation,” he added.
Likewise, Romualdez assured Pres. Marcos and the nation that the House would remain vigilant against price fixing by monitoring the prices of onion, rice, and other vital commodities and services to protect the interest of consumers.
“We will continue to monitor prices, especially of basic 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 and which 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.
According to Malacanang, the President’s directive was based on a memorandum submitted by Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo indicating substantial evidence pointing to the existence of an onion cartel which could be behind the surge in onion prices in 2022.
