House warns onion hoarders against lying
SPEAKER Martin Romualdez yesterday vowed to jail anyone who will lie to the House Committee on Agriculture and Food as the panel resumes its inquiry on Tuesday into the alleged hoarding of agricultural products seen to have induced the skyrocketing of prices of onion and other agricultural products.
“I cannot stress enough for these resource persons the importance of cooperating with the committee: Lie to lawmakers and you will all find yourselves in jail,” said Romualdez, reiterating that the committee seeks to reduce the prices of onions and dismantle vegetable cartels in the country.
The Speaker issued the statement after the House cited in contempt three officials of the Argo International Forwarders Inc. for refusing to turn over to lawmakers their complete list of clients who stored red onions in their cold storage facility in Nueva Ecija late last year when prices were spiking because of alleged hoarding of supplies.
Romualdez noted that it was only after being cited in contempt and spending some time in detention at the House of Representatives that the Argo officials eventually agreed to help in the committee’s probe on onion hoarding.
“Let your detention by the committee be a lesson: If you will not tell us the truth, we will send you to jail,” he said.
“We need to lower the prices of onions and decimate the cartel the soonest possible time.
And I guarantee the imprisonment of those exploitative and abusive individuals and business owners behind the cartel. Our constituents need an immediate reprieve from the high prices of agricultural goods,” he stressed.
The agriculture panel last week lifted the contempt order and released John Patrick Sevilla and Argo president Efren Zoleta Jr. and their lawyer Ryan Jan Cruz, who were earlier cited in contempt, after they agreed to cooperate with the committee’s investigation.
Romualdez said lawmakers are working to unmask the unscrupulous financiers and traders behind the onion and vegetable cartel in its hearings and have demonstrated their resolve by citing the three in contempt.
The leader of the House also warned those conniving with the onion cartel, “more so if they are from the government.”
“The committee will not spare anyone who helped these unscrupulous individuals, even those from the government. You are equally guilty of causing the suffering of the Filipino people,” the Speaker said.
The panel has subpoenaed alleged bigtime onion hoarder Leah Cruz, who is also known as the “Sibuyas Queen,” and another resource person, Ernesto Francisco on the motion of Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo.
Cruz and Francisco could not attend the panel’s last hearing because they had to be at the Sandiganbayan to attend a hearing, but the panel still decided to issue the subpoena to reiterate its demand for the two resource persons to participate.
On a motion of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., the panel vowed to also cite Cruz and Francisco in contempt should they fail to attend the next hearing.
