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Villar slams garlic cartel resurgence

Jacque Manabat, ABS-CBN News

<h3>Senator says same group linked to 2014 garlic price spike behind the repeat this year</h3>MANILA - Incensed at the seeming return of garlic price manipulation, Sen. Cynthia Villar on Friday asked the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to look into a 2014 report on the operation of an alleged garlic cartel in the Philippines, which bared names of some industry players recently blacklisted by the Department of Agriculture (DA).Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, said a cartel discovered in 2014 has resurfaced and caused the recent spike in garlic prices.She showed the press a 2014 study by the Department of Justice&#x27;s (DOJ) Office for Competition, and said that some of those charged for links with cartel operations are among 43 importers recently blacklisted by the DA.The agency decided to ban the importers as they had opted not to import garlic this year, causing a spike in prices of the staple in May.&quot;Kaya ako naiirita, that happened in 2013, 2014. Akala ko, we learned our lesson. Tapos bumabalik na naman,&quot; she told reporters at a forum in Quezon City.&quot;Ang intention lang naman is [that] it will never happen again. Kapag ganito, mae-encourage sila to do it over and over again. &#x27;Pag nag-price spike, alam niyo nang may pinangagalingan nito.&quot;Villar emphasized her disappointment at the inaction that followed the earlier report, underscoring its connection to some non-compliant garlic importers.She did not mention names or companies but said she would submit the report to the PCC.&quot;Sinabi nila na may cartel, sinabi nila kung sino. Sila uli. Sinabi na doon na sino nagca-cartel, tapos nung nag-submit ng report, sila pa rin. Ibig sabihin, &#x27;yung member ng cartel dapat na-blacklist na noon pa, pero they&#x27;re the same people again,&quot; she said.&quot;Nakakalungkot na nag-investigate tayo 2013, 2014, nag-investigate na ang DOJ, and yet ngayong 2017, kapag tiningnan natin ang importers, sila pa rin. This is a problem. Kaya natin cinreate ang PCC, this is your problem. Ibibigay namin sa inyo ang papeles,&quot; she added.PCC Commissioner Stella Quimbo said the agency could investigate the case right away upon receiving the senator&#x27;s request. She said the DOJ&#x27;s study on garlic cartels would not go to waste.&quot;Meron tayong ginagamit na rules and procedure. Kailangan natin sundan. Hindi masasayang ang 2014 report. Kapag binuksan ang report, masasama yan,&quot; she said in the same forum.Initial investigation will take 90 days. PCC explained that because garlic is considered a basic commodity, violators will be fined thrice the usual P100-million penalty.The 2014 DOJ study had found that collusion between DA officials and garlic industry traders, not a stock shortage, had caused staggering increases in garlic prices that year.The report said garlic imports were controlled mainly by at least four individuals who created a web of dummy entities accredited by the Bureau of Plant Industry. In June 2014, retail prices of garlic <a href="http://k2.abs-cbnnews.com/video/business/07/03/14/garlic-prices-manipulated-govt-agencies-say">soared </a>to as high as P300 to P400 a kilo from the usual P60 to P90 per kilo, spurring an investigation and seizure of smuggled garlic. The spikes were a 74 percent rise from the same period the year earlier, and a 100 percent increase from average prices.This May, the price of garlic jumped again to P200 to P250 per kilo, from the usual prevailing price of P70 to P90. The DA targeted a supply of 130,000 metric tons of garlic to meet the yearly demand, but because of low local production, the country has been dependent on the importation of the basic commodity.

Incensed at the seeming return of garlic price manipulation, Sen. Cynthia Villar on Friday asked the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to look into a 2014 report on the operation of an alleged garlic cartel in the Philippines, which bared names of some industry players recently blacklisted by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Incensed at the seeming return of garlic price manipulation, Sen. Cynthia Villar on Friday asked the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to look into a 2014 report on the operation of an alleged garlic cartel in the Philippines, which bared names of some industry players recently blacklisted by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Villar slams garlic cartel resurgence

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Villar slams garlic cartel resurgence

Jacque Manabat,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 14, 2017 07:24 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 14, 2017 07:27 PM PHT

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Cynthia Villar

garlic

PCC

Philippine Competition Commission

Department of Agriculture

garlic cartel

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