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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider More charges to be filed vs gov't officials, private persons in 2022 onion hoarding, price manipulation -- Sec Remulla

More charges to be filed vs gov't officials, private persons in 2022 onion hoarding, price manipulation -- Sec Remulla

Published Oct 11, 2023 11:05 am

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on Wednesday, Oct. 11, said more criminal complaints will be filed against those involved in the manipulation of supply and prices of onions in December last year. 

Six persons, three of them Department of Agriculture (DA) officials, have been charged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) before the DOJ last month with profiteering and hoarding in violations of Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7581, the Price Act, and RA 3029, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

“Mayron pa tayong pang apat na kaso (we are looking at filing a fourth complaint) falsification of private documents and use of falsified documents under Article 272 of Revised Penal Code," Remulla said during a late afternoon press briefing.

He said the DOJ is also looking at filing administrative cases against the three DA officials named in the NBI complaint -- DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista and DA Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) officers-in-charge Junibert De Sagun and Glenn Panganiban.

In the complaint filed by the NBI, Remulla said the three DA officials were accused of having violated RA 3019 along with those from the Bonena Multipurpose Cooperative which was charged with profiteering and hoarding along with private individuals Israel Riguyal, Mary Ann dela Rosa and Victor dela Rosa-Jimenez.

Last month, DOJ Undersecretary Geronimo L. Sy said the NBI complaints stemmed from the overpriced onions sold in the market last December that reached up to P537 per kilo even if the farmgate price or cost of production was only between P8 to P15 per kilo.

Sy recounted that due to lack of supply, the DA procured last December 8,000 bags of onions of 25 kilos per bag.

“Nadeliver actually at nagbayad actually ang gobyerno (there was payment for actual deliveries) from funds downloaded from the DA," he said.

But he said the investigators found that there was only one bidder who submitted three bids. 

"Yung ibang bids are actually fictitious para manalo ‘yung preferred bidder (The other bids were fictitious so that the preferred bidder will win in the bidding process),” Sy also said.

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