Anti-trust watchdog probes onion cartel

The move, according to the Philippine Competition Commission, is aligned with the probe prompted by House Speaker and Leyte First District Congressman Martin G. Romualdez and House Resolution No. 681 filed by Marikina Second District Representative Stella A. Quimbo

The Philippine Competition Commission is tracing down any possible cartel or abuse of dominance conduct that could have caused the recently jacked up local prices of onion, thus hurting consumers’ pockets.

In a press statement on Thursday, the PCC said it launched a market assessment to probe why onion retail prices were unusually high.

“As prices are seen to stabilize due to onion imports and the SRP set last 6 February, the PCC is looking into the cause of such market anomaly in coordination with the sector regulators and other law enforcement agencies,” the statement read.

It added that it has been “investigating the high prices of onion for possible cartel or abuse of dominance conduct” since November last year.

The move, according to the competition watchdog, aligns with the probe prompted by Speaker and Leyte First District Congressman Martin G. Romualdez and House Resolution 681 filed by Marikina Second District Representative Stella A. Quimbo.

Philippine Competition Act

Under the Philippine Competition Act, businesses who will be found to have taken advantage of the situation may be fined up to P100 million, and even face jail time of up to seven years.

The fines may even be tripled if trade of basic necessities, including agricultural products identified by the Price Act, are involved in cartel or abuse of dominance violations.