Romualdez orders intensified campaign vs onion price manipulation
MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has ordered a renewed and intensified drive against onion price manipulation to bring down the price of the agricultural product in local markets nationwide.
Romualdez issued the statement after hearing reports on hoarders’ rampant price manipulation of onion, which resulted in skyrocketing prices of the commodity from P90 to P180 per kilo, as revealed by the House committee on agriculture and food’s hearing.
“Nagsisimula na namang maging aktibo ang mga hoarders at price manipulators ng sibuyas. We will nip this problem in the bud. Hindi natin papayagan na pumalo ang presyo nito sa halagang di abot-kaya ng ordinaryong Pilipino,” Romualdez said.
(Onion hoarders and price manipulators are starting to become active again. We will nip this problem in the bud. We will not allow its price to rise beyond the reach of ordinary Filipinos.)
“Akala yata ng mga hoarders at price manipulators na ito, hindi natin sila binabantayan. Sa pagkakataong ito, hindi nila tayo malulusutan. Pakikilusin natin ang lahat ng sangay ng gobyerno para maibalik sa dati ang presyo ng sibuyas,” he added.
(I guess these hoarders and price manipulators think we aren’t watching them. This time, they won’t get away.. We will mobilize all branches of the government to restore the price of onions.)
Romualdez likewise asked Bureau of Plant and Industry officials to report and explain to him how hoarders are able to manipulate onion prices again.
“Sa report na natanggap namin, naibenta na ng mga magsasaka ang harvest nila. Ibig sabihin, nasa cold storage na ang mga ito at pinipigil lang ang release sa market para mapataas ang presyo. Ito ang modus operandi na nadiskubre ng House Committee kung kaya napatigil natin ito noon,” Romualdez said.
(According to the report we received, the farmers have already sold their harvest. This means that they are already in cold storagebut its release is being stalled to increase the price. This is the modus operandi discovered by the House Committee, which is why we stopped it then.)
