Makabayan solon ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro has expressed sadness and anger over the reported suicide of five farmers of white onions from Bayambang, Pangasinan.
Castro, a deputy minority leader, was referring to details coming out of the Senate inquiry Monday, Jan. 16 on the soaring prices of onions in the local market.
"Nakakalungkot at nakakagalit na dahil sa pagkalubog sa utang ay nagpapakamatay na ang ating mga magsasaka ng sibuyas samantalang ang kanilang mga produkto naman ay binebenta sa napakataas na halaga sa mga palengke (It saddens and angers me that, due to their huge debts, our onion farmers have been driven to commit suicide even as their produce are being sold at exorbitant prices in the market)," she said in a statement Tuesday, Jan. 17.
Castro said that this took place "while traders are low-balling the farmers by buying their onions at P8 to P15 per kilo, only to sell them in Manila at P600 to P700 ".
"Justice can only be done for these farmers when their harvest are both at fair prices and government fully supports them. The unscrupulous traders cartels as well as their protectors should also be held to account and charged with economic sabotage," the teacher-solon said.
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In the same statement, the militant lawmaker prodded the Marcos administration to hand down wealth taxes to the "super rich", which she said include these abusive traders who push farmers to take their own lives.