Aside from onions, the Department of Agriculture (DA) should also shape up to effectively address the egg shortage and stop its surging prices in the market “before it takes a turn for the worse.”

“DA needs to step up and swiftly address the escalating egg prices on the market before it takes a turn for the worse not only in the egg industry but also for low-income households that rely on eggs as their cheapest protein source,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

The perceived shortage and high prices of eggs are now being attributed to the Luzon bird flu outbreak and the increasing price of poultry feeds.

The senator said the Marcos administration should now consider alternative solutions to this crisis as importation would not work for egg products.

“Hindi gaya sa manok, baboy, asukal, mais, bigas at sibuyas, bulok na ang itlog bago pa dumating dito sa bansa (Unlike chicken, pork, sugar, corn, rice and onions, eggs are already rotten before they arrive in the country),” Hontiveros said.

“Kaya hindi na uubra ang easy way out na importation ng administrasyon kapag nagkukulang ng suplay at tumataas ang presyo ng mga bilihin (So the administration's easy way out importation will no longer work when there is a lack of supply and the price of goods increases),” she stated.

At the same time, she urged the DA to be prepared for the possibility that the avian flu might also spread to Batangas, where majority of the country’s egg supply comes from.

“Dapat handa at may mabilis na mekanismo ang DA para sa distribution ng indemnification sa magmamanok para mabilis na maapula ang sakit at di na kumalat (The DA must be ready and have a quick mechanism for the distribution of indemnification to poultry farmers so that the disease can be stopped quickly and not spread),” she said.

“Huwag na sanang maulit ang nangyari sa mga hog raisers natin na dahil sa sobrang bagal na ayuda, di agad na-manage ang mga tinamaan ng swine flu at nakaabot pa ng palengke ang infected na karne para lang makabawi kahit kaunti sa kanilang puhunan (We hope that what happened to our hog raisers will never happen again, that due to very slow aid, those affected by the swine flu were not managed immediately and the infected meat even reached the market just to recover even a little of their investment),” the lawmaker added.

At the same time, Hontiveros reiterated her call for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr to appoint a qualified DA secretary who would be able to work full-time to address the country’s challenges in the agriculture sector particularly on food supply and empowering farmers.

As of now, President Marcos is the acting DA secretary.

“Hindi natin kailangan ng part-time secretary dahil hindi nito matutugunan ang mga full time na problema na kinakaharap ng sektor (We do not need a part-time secretary because it will not address the full-time problems facing the sector),” Hontiveros said.

“Huwag nating hayaan na maging isang kahig, isang tuka, hindi lang ang poultry industry kundi pati ang ating mga kababayan na itlog na lang ang ginagawang panlaman tiyan dahil sa nagtataasang presyo ng karne at iba pang bilihin (Let's not let it become a trap, a beak, not only the poultry industry but also our compatriots whose eggs are only used as filling because of the rising price of meat and other goods),” she stressed.