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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'You are blaming the President': Barzaga blasts DA exec for botched onion importation

'You are blaming the President': Barzaga blasts DA exec for botched onion importation

Published May 17, 2023 10:42 am
Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. (Screenshot from Facebook live)

Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. has castigated Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban and the rest of the Bureau of Plants Industry (BPI) for using the President as a "shock-absorber" for their failure to call for a timely importation of onions last year. "You are using the President as shock-absorber of your errors," Barzaga told Panganiban to his face during the House Committee on Agriculture and Food's resumption of its probe on the agricultural hoarding-slash-price manipulation issue. The BPI is an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA). President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who assumed office on June 30, 2022, sits as concurrent DA chief. Barzaga's main issue with Panganiban was his supposed inaction in August 2022 to have a certificate of necessity to import (CNI) signed by a higher authority at the DA, specifically the senior undersecretary. An approved CNI would have allowed the government to import onions during the ensuing non-harvest months of September to December. This, in turn, could have prevented the absurd price spike on onions in late 2022, when it reached over P700 per kilo. As he was being grilled on this matter, Panganiban kept on bringing up that the transition in government at that time resulted to the non-approval of the CNI that he prepared on Aug. 10, 2022. "We just formally sir endorsed [the CNI] to his office po," Panganiban recalled, referring to former DA Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian. "Did you make any follow-up?" the visibly irked Barzaga said, to which the BPI head answered, "Sir nag-change na nga po, sir (There was already a change in leadership sir)." "Inaction is a ground for disciplinary action...Sinasabi niyo, transition. Sinisisi niyo ang ating Pangulo? (You say, it's because of transition. Are you blaming our President?)" asked Barzaga. "We know the existing political reality. Hindi namin pwede sabihin sa tao, 'Pasensya na kayo, nagkamali kami. Hindi kami nakapag-import, nasa transition period (We cannot tell the people, 'We're sorry, we made a mistake. We weren't able to import because of the transition period)," he added. The veteran solon argued that Panganiban--who has been in the BPI since 2003--should have known what to do in order to prevent a onion supply shortage. "Hindi magkakaroon ng problema riyan kahit na mayroon tayong transition because we have responsible officials in the BPI and the DA. Hindi naman bago to eh (Even if there was a transition, we wouldn't have had a problem because we have responsible officials in the BPI and the DA. You are not new here)," he said. "Tapos hindi kayo nag-issue ng CNI (And then you fail to issue a CNI), and you are blaming the President, impliedly, because you are in the process of transition?" added Barzaga. It was established during last week's committee hearing that the country’s supply of yellow granex or white onions had dwindled to just 656 metric tons as of Aug. 5, 2022,. This was quantity was good for only five days. Also highlighted during the previous hearing was Panganiban's other tasks in the DA, that of being the the director of the National Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture Program (NUPAP) and High-Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP). This gave the solons the impression that he was juggling too many positions for him to be effective in any of them.

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Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Elpidio Barzaga BPI
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