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Bong Go backs proposed Senate probe on onion price hikes; urges gov't to intervene
Bong Go backs proposed Senate probe on onion price hikes; urges gov't to intervene
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go on Thursday, December 29 said he supports calls for a Senate investigation into the alarming skyrocketing prices of local onions in light of the alleged smuggling of the crop from other countries.
Sen. Imee Marcos has filed Senate Resolution No. 350 calling for a Senate investigation into the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Administrative Circular No. 9 which sets the suggested retail price for red onions in Metro Manila at P170 per kilogram.
But despite the price ceiling, Marcos noted that onion continued to be expensive especially at public markets.
“Ako po ay sang-ayon kung kailangang imbestigahan sa Senado ‘yung nakakabahalang pagtaas ng presyo ng sibuyas (I agree if the alarming increase in the price of onions needs to be investigated in the Senate),” Go said in a recent interview in Parañaque City.
Go cited Republic Act No. 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Law, which could penalize anyone found to be guilty of economic sabotage.
“At mayroon tayong batas, ‘yung Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Law, posibleng economic sabotage po ito kung saka-sakaling mapatutunayan na malalaking volume po ang involved (And we have a law, the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Law, this is possibly economic sabotage if it is proven that large volumes are involved),” said Go.
Based on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) price monitoring, the rate for locally grown red onions as of Tuesday was P500 per kilo, up 150 percent from P200 a year earlier.
On Wednesday, the DA reported that the price of onions has surged to P600 per kilo in some public markets, which is double the price from last month.
Go said the Executive Department should immediately look into any anomaly that may be contributing to the phenomenon.
“Ang apela ko lang po sa (My appeal to the ) Executive Department, to the Bureau of Customs, DA, to the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), i-monitor n’yo po nang mabuti dahil marami po ang apektado dito (please monitor this carefully because a lot of people would be affected here),” said Go, noting that the produce is a basic commodity.
“Nakakabahala po ito. Importante po walang nakakalusot na illegal smuggling ng mga sibuyas (This is alarming. It’s very important that no onions are illegally smuggled here),” the lawmaker stressed.