House Speaker Martin Romualdez (left) and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Speaker's office, MANILA BULLETIN)



House Speaker Martin Romualdez has hailed the "decisive action" of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. against the alleged onion cartel. “This is a welcome development, a decisive action that manifests the President’s resolve to clamp down on unscrupulous businessmen preying on hapless Filipino consumers and hampering his administration’s efforts to sustain the robust growth of our economy,” Romualdez said in a statement Wednesday morning, July 5. A day earlier, President Marcos ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the smuggling, hoarding, and price fixing of onion and other agricultural commodities. “The President’s directive should be enough to deter further supply manipulation of agricultural products and help stabilize prices, especially amid reports that prices of onion are on the rise again,” said the Speaker, who represents Leyte's 1st district. “The House of Representatives is ready to provide our authorities with the data uncovered from our committee hearings to provide them a head start in their own investigation,” he added. It was Romualdez who called for a congressional probe on onion smuggling after the prices of the agricultural product went over P700 per kilo in December last year. This made onion more expensive than meat. The House Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Quezon 1st district Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga began a series of hearings on the onion price surge issue last February. During the panel's final hearing last May, Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo tagged Lillia Cruz alias "Leah Cruz" and her family-controlled firm as the key players of the alleged onion cartel. According to Quimbo, the cartel which operates through a group of companies, was engaged in various activities in the supply chain such as farming, importation, local trading, warehousing, and logistics. The President’s directive was based on a memorandum submitted by Quimbo indicating substantial evidence pointing to the existence of an onion cartel. Meanwhile, Romualdez assured Marcos that the House would remain vigilant against price fixing by monitoring the prices of onion, rice, and other vital commodities and services to protect the interest of consumers. “We will continue to monitor prices, especially of basic staples like rice, vegetables, meat, onions, and garlic, to protect our people from hoarding, price manipulation, unreasonable price increases, and other practices in restraint of trade and which hamper competition,” he said.