FOR his refusal to attend public hearings investigating the complicated issues involving the smuggling and price manipulations of food products, an owner of a cold storage facility has been cited in contempt by the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and Food last Wednesday.
The committee chaired by Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga ordered the arrest and detention of businessman Eric Pabilona at the House of Representatives for failure to show up as a resource person at the hearings of the committee about the existence of an onion cartel.
Just like the Senate, the House has the power to cite in contempt resource persons invited to committee meetings if they are deemed uncooperative or evasive during congressional inquiries. Contempt of the Congress mandates the penalty of indefinite detention at the premises of the House.
‘We note the recent order of the House agriculture committee to use its contempt power and compel the attendance of an important resource person as perfectly all right. It is time for our lawmakers to flex their investigative muscles as provided for by law.’
SAGIP party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta noted that by Pabilona’s continuing absence and defiance of the committee’s invitations to appear before its hearings, he has shown outright disrespect to the panel, thus the legal recourse of citing him in contempt of Congress. The committee will implement the arrest and detention of Pabilona in coordination with the Philippine National Police.
Based on records of the House committee on agriculture and food, Pabilona is listed as the owner of the cold storage firm Tian Long Corporation. He was earlier identified as a shareholder of PhilVieva Corporation, a private firm founded by Lilia Cruz who is accused of smuggling onions and garlic.
The House committee has established in past hearings that PhilVieva controls the entire supply chain from farming to retail, and as such, the firm most likely could have dictated onion prices in the markets.
In December last year, prices of onion, an important ubiquitous ingredient of many Filipino dishes, increased to over P700 a kilo, with supply greatly diminished. House Speaker Martin Romualdez called for a congressional investigation in aid of legislation to address the issue and protect the consumers.
President Bongbong Marcos Jr, in his State of the Nation Address last month and other speeches, also vowed to arrest and put behind bars those who are engaged in smuggling of onions, sugar, rice and other food products, along with hoarders and price manipulators.
The Chief Executive even issued a direct order to the Department of Justice to investigate and arrest those involved.
Romualdez, meanwhile, urged the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Competition Commission, and the Department of Agriculture to work together and pursue leads obtained in the congressional hearings in filing charges against onion smugglers and cartel members.
We note the recent order of the House agriculture committee to use its contempt power and compel the attendance of an important resource person as perfectly all right.
It is time for our lawmakers to flex their investigative muscles as provided for by law.
