The Trade Department has tapped the National Bureau of Investigation for a probe of alleged profiteering by certain bakers and flour millers and turned over pertinent documents to the NBI’s anti-graft division in a meeting Friday.
Trade undersecretary for consumer protection Victorio Dimagiba said the department has also recommended an investigation on the alleged collusion between the flour milling and bread industries.
“Part of the process is for the investigating agency to summon or issue subpoena to the flour millers and bakers to require them to submit documents related to the case. In every investigation, it is standard protocol to get both sides of the story to be able to arrive at accurate conclusions on the case,” he said.
The Department turned over documents that include correspondences between the Trade Department, local flour millers and bakers; import documents of flour millers from the Bureau of Customs; and price computations by the Department based on the submissions from the flour millers and bakers.
“Since we have observed the declining trend in world market price of wheat in 2011, we have continuously clamored before the flour milling and bread industries to review their prices and adjust accordingly. However, none of them really heeded to our call. As such, we decided to take this alternative course of action to ensure that prices of goods particularly flour and bread are sold at reasonable prices,” said Dimagiba.
DTI wrote three separate letters to 10 local flour millers asking these companies lower their prices, and to 12 bakers to submit documents showing their flour procurement costs, but only a handful replied to their letter, each stating their respective reasons for failing to respond to the call to lower the cost of products.