ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo (PPAB)

House Deputy Majority Leader ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo is worried that unscrupulous traders are once again taking advantage of onion farmers--and by extension--Filipino consumers.

“Amin pong tinitignan ngayon ang kalagayan ng ating mga local onion farmers, na tila patuloy na pinagsasamantalahan ng mga traders sa paghakot ng kanilang pananim sa di makatarungang halaga," Tulfo said in a statement Monday, April 8.

(We are currently looking at the state of local onion farmers, who are seemingly still being taken advantage of by traders when it comes to buying their goods.)

Tulfo's main concern is the return of some traders' practice of hoarding onions, which in late 2022 supposedly resulted to the skyrocketing of the price of the commodity. In some cases, onion prices reached an absurd P700 per kilo.

“Mukhang kailangan araw-arawin namin itong mga ito, dahil pawang pinapahupa lang nila ang issue at kapag tahimik na ay muli silang namamakyaw ng mga sibuyas na bagsak presyo, maaaring hino-hoard o tinatago at binebenta naman sa di hamak na mataas na halaga sa merkado,” he continued.

(Looks like we need to respond to this everyday, it's as if they momentarily laid low on the issue but still intended to buy onions wholesale for dirt cheap afterward. It's possible that they're hoarding it in order to sell it at a higher price.)

“Ang kawawa po kasi dito bukod sa ating local farmers ay ang ating mga mamimili sa palengke, ang taong bayan, dahil sa taas ng presyo ng bilihin gaya ng sibuyas. Kaya isa pang inaaral namin ay ang pag rekomenda ng importation ng sibuyas kung kailangan para maibaba ang presyo nito," said the deputy majority leader for communications.

(Not only our local farmers are at the losing end, but also our consumers, no thanks to the price increase of basic goods like onions. That’s why one of the recommendations that we're studying is the importation of onions, if there's a need to pull down its prices.)

Tulfo assured the public that the House of Representatives will not stop at anything to fulfill their mandate to protect and uphold the rights and interests of the Filipinos, especially local farmers.

“Kung inyo pong naaalala, kasama po natin si Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez na nag-ikot sa mga palengke at nagsagawa ng mga inspeksyon sa mga bodega nitong mga traders na nagsasamantala sa ating mga farmers,” he added.

(If you can recall, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez was with us when we visited markets and conducted inspections inside these traders' warehouses.)

It was Romualdez who ordered the House Committee on Agriculture and Food to carry out an investigation last year on the onion price surge.