QUEZON CITY โ Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. has expressed strong support for the Philippine Competition Commissionโs decision to file charges against a dozen onion traders allegedly engaging in cartel-like activities harming consumers and the economy.
โIโm happy with the decision of the PCC. It should serve as a warning to all smugglers and unscrupulous traders that we will go after all of them,โ Tiu Laurel said.
Under directives from President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the PCC has charged 12 companies and individuals for violating the Philippine Competition Act in their handling of onion imports and trade.
The investigation revealed that these traders colluded to allocate sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances among themselves, allowing them to control over half of the Philippinesโ onion import volume.
Such actions constitute anti-competitive behavior, which is punishable under the Competition Act.
In addition to facing legal charges, the implicated traders have been ordered to pay fines totaling P2.4 billion.
These individuals were entrusted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to ensure a stable onion supply, Tiu Laurel said.
โWe canโt allow a few individuals, driven by an insatiable lust for money, to exploit our farmers and consumers or, worse, sabotage our economy,โ he added.
He also said that the Department of Agriculture will consider blacklisting these traders and may withdraw the accreditation of cold storage facilities whose owners are found to be complicit with the scheme.
The PCC is a regulatory body mandated to implement the national competition policy and enforce Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), which serves as the countryโs primary competition law for promoting and protecting competitive markets.ย (GLG/PIA-NCR)
