Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo ((Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo did a "stellar" job in helping unravel the alleged cartel that caused onion prices to rise to absurd levels late last year. Thus, said House Speaker Martin Romualdez as he urged authorities to take advantage of fruits of the hard work rendered by Quimbo and the Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga-led Committee on Agriculture and Food. “Rep. Quimbo lived up to her name and did a stellar job. Her expose is major step forward in our efforts to bring down the prices of this essential commodity,” Romualdez said in a statement Sunday morning, May 21. “But credit must also be given to the Committee on Agriculture and Food, led Chairman and Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfredo Mark Enverga, for its persistence in the effort to get into the bottom of this controversy,” he added. From February tp May, the Envega panel conducted nine marathon hearings on the issue of agricultural hoarding and price manipulation in the country. Through painstaking questioning by the congressmen, they were able to find out who are most likely responsible for onion prices going as high as P700 a kilo. Quimbo, an economist, was among the most active participants of the motu proprio investigation. The lady solon had tagged Lilia Cruz alias Leah Cruz as the undisputed “Sibuyas Queen”--the center of her onion cartel theory, which include her very own Philippine VIEVA Group of Companies (PhilVIEVA) and its allied firms. "Sa madaling salita, hawak sa leeg ng PhilVIEVA ang buong supply chain mula umpisa, which is farming hanggang dulo which is retail (In simpler terms, PhilVIEVA holds by the neck the entire supply chain from the beginning, which is farming until the end which is retail)," she said. “I call on the concerned authorities like the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to work together to stamp out this cartel and spare our people from further suffering caused by their unscrupulous trade practices,” Romualdez said. “The extensive hearings conducted by the House have already provided good leads which our authorities can follow to build an air tight case and prosecute those involved,” said the Leyte 1st district congressman. The Speaker noted that, among others, unfair trade practices may be prosecuted under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), which penalizes businesses found to have engaged in anti-competitive agreements with a fine of up to P100 million, and imprisonment of up to seven years. The fines may be tripled if trade of basic necessities, including agricultural products identified by the Price Act, are involved in cartel or abuse of dominance violations.