House to intensify ‘all-out war’ vs agri-hoarders — solon

The House of Representatives is committed in waging an “all-out war” against those involved in agricultural smuggling, hoarding, and price manipulation.

This was disclosed by Quezon 2nd district Rep. David Suarez, referring to House Speaker Martin Romuladez’s call to support President Marcos in the effort to crack down on hoarders and price manipulators of agricultural products.

“Buoyed by this development, and upon the instruction of Speaker Martin Romualdez, the House Committee on Agriculture and Food will intensify its investigation on hoarders and price manipulators not only of onions but of other staple food items like rice,” Suarez said in a statement.

“Our mission order is clear: there is no room for smugglers, hoarders, and price manipulators under this administration,” added the solon who is a vice chairperson of the panel.

Last year, supposed hoarding and price manipulation of onions pushed retail prices of the commodity to an absurd P700 per kilo.

Suarez welcomed the recent price reduction of onions by P10 per kilo, but he stressed that the House will not stop in its mission to combat price hikes.

“We commend the efforts of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in stabilizing the retail prices of essential commodities, and we welcome as good news its report that the retail price of onions has decreased by P10 per kilo, with the cost of the red bulbs going down to P130 per kilo from the previous P140 per kilo,” he said.

The lawmaker pointed to the collaboration between the House of Representatives and the executive department in effectively reducing the prices of onions and in filing criminal charges against those involved in the artificial shortage of the commodity.

“The continuing reduction in the price of onion is a testament to the effectiveness of our strategies against price manipulation and profiteering,” Suarez said.

“However, it does not signify the end of our mission. The Speaker said there will be no let-up in our committee investigation until we break down the cartels responsible for hoarding and artificial shortages of basic commodities,” he noted. (Dexter Barro II )