The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed a complaint against six individuals allegedly linked to onion smuggling in the Philippines. The complaint includes two government officials and four private individuals.
The complaint alleges that the individuals profited from the sale of around 8,000 bags of onions to the government-owned and controlled corporation Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in December 2022. The NBI found that each bag contained at least 25 kilograms and that the price per kilogram exceeded ₱500 when the farmgate prices of onions at the time were only below ₱20.
The respondents are also facing complaints related to falsified documents submitted in the bidding process. The NBI alleges that the respondents submitted three proposals during the bidding, two of which were fictitious, allowing the preferred bidder to actually win.
The DOJ officials did not name the respondents to not preempt the prosecutors’ evaluation.
The Justice chief has stated that the initial complaint filed by the NBI is just the beginning of a series of cases to be filed regarding the hoarding and smuggling of onions, which caused a significant price increase of up to P700 per kilogram in late 2022.
In July, the DOJ chief mentioned that they were constructing an economic sabotage case against a network of individuals involved in the alleged onion cartel, with a focus on six to seven specific individuals.
This directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who oversees the Department of Agriculture, came as he instructed the DOJ and the NBI to investigate the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products, citing it as an act of economic sabotage.
Source: PhilNews24 | September 19, 2023
