EDITORIAL— An onion cartel

Remember when onions made many Filipinos cry? Not just because of the pungency of the bulbs, but because of the astronomical price, which surged to P800 a kilo as demand peaked during the 2022 Christmas season.

It was one of the earliest crises to hit the new administration, when President Marcos was concurrently holding the post of secretary of agriculture in an apparent effort to deliver on his campaign promise of rice at P20 a kilo.

That “aspiration” failed to materialize, except in the form of a heavily subsidized program. Even the current agriculture secretary has said that under present circumstances, rice retailed at P20 per kilo is no longer possible.

But it’s possible to hold accountable those behind what was widely believed to be an artificial shortage that made onion prices skyrocket in late 2022 until the first quarter of 2023.

Yesterday, the Philippine Competition Commission announced that it had slapped a fine of P1.76 billion on six firms that operated as an onion cartel along with their executives. The PCC said it was the largest ever fine imposed under the Philippine Competition Act.

Those fined were Golden Shine International Freight Forwarders Corp., cold storage operator Tian Long Corp. and onion importers La Reina Fresh Vegetables & Young Indoor Plants Inc. and Yom Trading Corp.

Also found liable were Mark Castro Ocampo, the sole proprietor of Vegefru Producing Store; Nancy Callanta Rosal, sole proprietor of Rosal Fruit and Vegetable Trading; Golden Shine president Lilia Cruz; Eric Pabilona, Golden Shine corporate executive officer and Tian Long corporate secretary; Renato Francisco Jr., La Reina and Yom Trading chairman and president, and Letty Baculando, Golden Shine incorporator. 

A dawn raid in September 2023 yielded evidence that showed how the cartel operated, according to the PCC, which decided on the issue last Oct. 1. The cartel has until today to settle the fines, which will increase upon failure to pay.

The PCC move is laudable. Still awaited by the nation is action on what Senate probers had described as a government-sponsored sugar cartel.

On Feb. 9, 2023, imported sugar arrived at the Port of Batangas, days before Sugar Order No. 6 covering the shipment was issued on Feb. 15. The shipments were consigned to just three firms hand-picked by the Department of Agriculture: All Asian Countertrade Inc., S&D Sucden Philippines Inc. and Edison Lee Marketing Corp., which were allowed to import 440,000 metric tons of refined sugar.

After the action on onions, perhaps the mystery over this sugar importation will also be solved.