The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives has sought a legislative inquiry into the rising onion prices in the market.
House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of the ACT party-list, House Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of the Gabriela party-list and Representative Raoul Manuel of the Kabataan party-list made the call under House Resolution 673, saying that the Department of Agriculture’s imposition of aOnion prices have increased to as much as P720 per kilo.
"President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., who sits as acting Agriculture Secretary, said that the government is exploring ways of selling smuggled onions in the market to reduce the supply problem, in an apparent bid to frame the onion price spike as mere issue of supply and demand. A proposal was made immediately by the Bureau of Plant Industry to import 7,000 metric tons of red onion and 7,500 metric tons of white onion to reduce their market price," the resolution stated.
"There are reasons to believe that there is an ongoing control and manipulation of onion prices from farmgate to market retail by big traders who store onions in cold storage warehouses," it added. The lawmakers said Marcos "must be compelled to stop traders and smugglers" from profiting from the situation.
"Large traders, importers, and even smugglers profit hugely from onions' high prices, while consumers shell out more to purchase onions as a result," the resolution said. —
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