PCC launches investigation against garlic import cartels

As the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to eliminate the existence of cartels allegedly manipulating the garlic sector, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) — the antitrust and competition authority of the country — has now entered the picture and launched a preliminary investigation on the issue.

PCC Chairman Arsenio M. Balisacan said his agency just recently started an investigation against the so-called garlic cartels as a response to request of Senator Cynthia Villar.

It was just on Monday when Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture, deeply expressed her frustrations about the inaction of DA, DOJ, and Bureau of Customs to resolve the issue on cartels that had been pestering the agriculture sector for several years now.

"The Commission has recently received a letter from Senator Cynthia Villar to look into the garlic industry and alleged existence of cartel. Triggered by the letter of Senator Villar, the PCC has decided to launch a preliminary inquiry into the garlic industry," Balisacan said in a briefing on Tuesday.

"We are mindful of the fact that this issue is in an important public concern," he added.

PCC has given itself 90 days to finish the preliminary inquiry on garlic cartels before it moves on with a full blown investigation that can take two years to finish.

Orlando Polinar, director IV at PCC's Competition Enforcement Office, said the 90-day-period already began yesterday.

"After 90 days, we should be able to identify the parties to be held liable in this issue. That is part of the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry," Polinar said.

Reacting on this particular investigation, PCC Commissioner Stella A. Quimbo said it is under the agency's jurisdiction to open a case, investigate, and decide on cases.

When asked about the extent of its coordination with DA, Polinar said in a separate interview that the agency will be its primary source of information.

He also said that for whatever reason he might have, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol's decision to ban certain importers will not be reversed in the course of the PCC investigation.

"We can't reverse the decision of DA. Our investigation will look at it at a different perspective. The issue for us is to find out whether those who were given permits to import garlic colluded and coordinated to control the arrival of garlic in the country," Polinar said.

"If the DA is black listing importers, that might be based on a totally different consideration," he added.

After conducting another hearing on garlic cartels, Villar lambasted DOJ for letting smugglers of garlic get away with their bad actions despite a report that came out in 2014 that had proved their existence.

A data from Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) showed that local garlic producers are still struggling from the 25-year policy of wanton garlic importation and smuggling in lieu of domestic production.

For instance, it cited that the United Nations (UN) Comtrade Report shows that China, Malaysia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and Spain exported a total of 62.7 million kilograms of garlic in the Philippines in 2016 with a total value of US$82.46 million.

But in a report produced in the Philippines, it says that only 58.75 million kilos of garlic entered the country last year, a disparity of 3.9 million kilos that are suspected to have been smuggled.

Jayson Cainglet, executive director of SINAG, then said that Filipino consumers will continue to live at the mercy of volatile world prices and smuggled goods at least in terms of garlic as long as the government continues to push for more importation instead of focusing on boosting the local production.