Quimbo says connivance, cartel behind recent skyrocketing prices of onions
FILE PHOTO: Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo delivers a privilege speech on Monday, November 16, 2020, at the House of Representatives. (File) Photo from the House of Representatives
MANILA, Philippines — Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo is convinced that cartels have been behind the rise of onion prices in 2022, as traders invited to the House committee on agriculture and food hearing have shown links to each other.
Quimbo said this at the continuation of the House panel’s probe on the high onion prices on Wednesday, after officials from cold storage companies Tian Long Trading and Yom Trading Corporation — Eric Pabilona and Renato Francisco, respectively — were found to be shareholders of Phil Vieva Corporation.
Phil Vieva which stands for Vegetable Importers, Exporters and Vendors Association, is an organization founded by Lilia Cruz, the person accused of smuggling onions and garlic. Cruz has denied the accusations several times.
During her interpellation, Quimbo asked Pabilona why Tian Long did not use logistics company Golden Shine — another shareholder of Phil Vieva where he invested P300,000 — in transporting onions to Divisoria Market. In response, Pabilona said he has his own trucking company in Tian Long.
“So you (traders and cold storage owners), so it seems that you are not competitors, you are just one big — you are working together, is that it?” Quimbo asked.
“That’s not the case because we have our own companies, right?” Pabilona replied.
Quimbo — who was obviously exasperated after the turn of events — said that it appears the traders are all conniving and have formed part of the cartel.
“What makes this questioning very difficult is there seems to be many, many pairs involved, but in reality, there’s really, effectively, just one single player in this market, because it’s just a cartel. That’s the essence of a cartel — it’s as if there is one single player acting as one. As if there is a conductor and he or she would give directions?” she said.
“This is how I look at it Mr. Chair, I’m sorry, we have been talking to these people for a long time and it is frustrating because we cannot get answers from them, because they are working together, right? So we just need to stay patient and analyze documents, and the documents won’t lie,” she added.
Last January, Quimbo — an economist by profession — already raised the possibility of cartels manipulating onion prices by hoarding the products and storing them in cold storage facilities. This in turn creates an artificial shortage, which based on the law of supply and demand, would raise prices.
READ: Quimbo suspects cartels behind ‘artificial’ onion prices
Quimbo said that it is impossible for red onion prices to rise when the country has a sufficient supply, which led her to the conclusion that artificial factors are in play.
Other discoveries
At the same hearing, Quimbo was also surprised to hear that Phil Vieva is also engaged in exporting vegetables, as admitted by Pabilona. While one of the letters in Vieva stands for exporters, it appears to be the first time that Vieva was described as an importer of vegetables, particularly okra.
“Okay so what is the nature of Phil Vieva? You export vegetables? How? Can you tell us how you earn money there?” Quimbo asked Pabilona.
“Export vegetables, yes your Honor, I don’t know the specifics — Ma’am Cruz has been the one in charge of (operations),” Pabilona said.
“So what we are perplexed about is that this is new, that Phil Vieva is earning from okra because this is the eighth hearing, we all thought that Phil Vieva earns from onions. Renato Francisco, who is also with Phil Vieva, imports onions,” Quimbo replied.
For Francisco, he was grilled by Quimbo and Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga for admitting that his yearly income was at just P19,000. This was despite Francisco bringing in 400 containers filled with onion in 2020.
“According to the Bureau of Customs, one container, 40-footer contains how many […] 25,000 kilos, kaya ‘yong 19,000 is only for one container? Multiply by 400 that would almost be a million already,” Barzaga said.
“His reports are correct but he is saying that he has a net — he has a net of P19,000 for the entire year,” Quimbo added.
Quimbo noted that if this is true, Francisco only earns less than P2,000 per month, prompting Barzaga to ask whether the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) needs to audit Francisco’s finances.
“You might get an issue, are you fixing this with the BIR? You earn P19,000 a year? An ordinary employee of the Congress earns more on a monthly basis,” Barzaga said. “You want to convince us that you only earn P19,000 a year? And that is pre-pandemic. That is what you make, under oath?”
“Yes po your Honor,” Francisco replied.
“Okay, we’ll find out. Oh Bureau of Internal Revenue, baka dapat mag-special audit na tayo rito, mag-recommend kami,” Barzaga fired back.
Francisco, however, clarified that the funds were being used to sustain their companies’ operations.
The House panel has conducted at least eight hearings to uncover why agricultural products like mainly onions became too expensive in the latter part of 2022. Earlier, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was asked to check into the sales of one onion distributor after admitting that she sold red onions at P200 to P250 per kilogram in December — when prices were between P400 to P700.
READ: Iloilo solon asks NBI: Check onion trader’s claims of selling onion at low price last year
Then, another lawmaker accused the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) of being influenced to refrain from importing white onions, and substitute red onions instead.
