President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that there’s no deadline on his order to probe the onion cartel.
In an interview, the President told reporters that he’s not a fan of giving deadlines, adding that he would not accept a half-baked result.
Marcos said the probe will focus on those who took part in the hoarding and controlling of various agricultural products, saying that many cartels are still operating.
He also doubled down on his previous statement that this was tantamount to economic sabotage.
President Marcos doubled down on his previous statement of economic sabotage.
He also said the government will do its best to stop the cartels in their tracks and bring them to justice.
Earlier, the President led the opening of the “6th Livestock and Aquaculture Philippines 2023” at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday welcomed the President’s order to investigate the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products after a House probe pointed to cartels as the culprit for commodity shortages and high prices.
On Tuesday, Marcos ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the smuggling, hoarding, and price fixing of onions 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,” Romualdez said.
Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr of Dasmariñas City in Cavite said the President’s order was a welcome development, saying it shows his seriousness in protecting the welfare of the public.
In May, during a hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo tagged Lillia or Leah Cruz and her family-controlled firm at the center of the alleged onion cartel.
Quimbo said the cartel, which operates through a group of companies, was engaged in various activities in the supply chain such as farming, importation, local trading, warehousing, and logistics.
The Department of Justice announced the creation of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force, which will include the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Agriculture.
The department said it would also form a special team of prosecutors “primarily focused on protecting the entire agricultural sector, not only the onion industry.”
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III commended the President for ordering a crackdown on the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products.
But Senator Risa Hontiveros expressed her misgivings, citing previous probes that ended nowhere.
She also chided the President for saying agriculture has been ignored for the last 30 years because she said it is still being ignored under his watch.
“State-sponsored smuggling has been in existence for a long time, but it has only gotten worse in the first year of the administration,” she said.