MANILA – A ranking official of the Department of Agriculture announced yesterday the postponement of the implementation of the P150 per kilo suggested retail price for red onions and P140 per kilo SRP for white onions after the DA’s senior official decided to put on hold the signing of the memorandum order.
In an interview, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Rex Estoperez added that Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban did not sign the draft order on the SRP for onions.
“Actually, it was announced that we will be adopting SRP, but it was not signed by Senior Undersecretary Panganiban and according to him, when we discussed this matter, he decided to put on hold the signing,” Estoperez said.
The SRP was supposed to take effect on Monday, May 22, after a consensus reached during a meeting with various stakeholders on May 19 attended by DA officials, onion farmers, farmers groups, wholesalers, traders and retailers.
“He is not convinced with the cost structure set for the SRP for now. We are coordinating also with the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) right now on what we can do but we will continue monitoring and inspecting the cold storages of the onions,” Estoperez added.
Estoperez admitted that Panganiban took into consideration the zero compliance with the previous SRP imposed on the bulbs.
“Last February, the SRP did not work out, we don’t want to repeat this plus the fact there are some things that we have to address first, particularly the supply,” Estoperez said.
The DA implemented a P250 per kilo SRP in December 2022 but the price of onions skyrocketed to P720 per kilo amid the shortage in the supply.In February, the agency also imposed a P125 SRP on imported onions and failed to get compliance from the traders and retailers.“We fear that we are not prepared for that (SRP). It is more difficult to implement. We should be prepared on all strategies before implementing the SRP,” Estoperez added. Days after the announcement on the implementation of P150 SRP for red onions, the retail prices of the bulbs started to go down. Based on monitoring of the DA on Monday, only Marikina Public Market sold as high as P200 per kilo of onions.?The retail prices of onions in Metro Manila markets, particularly at New Las Piñas City Public Market; Guadalupe Public Market in Makati; San Andres Market, Quinta Market, Pritil Market in Manila; Pamilihang Lungsod ng Muntinlupa; Pasay City Market; Pasig City Mega Market; Commonwealth Market, Muñoz Market, Mega Q-Mart, all in Quezon City and Malabon Central Market, ranged between P150 and P190 per kilo.
Estoperez urged onion farmers turned traders to cooperate to prevent the increase in the retail price of the bulbs.
“Our appeal to our farmer-trader, during that time (harvest), we protected you, now that you are a trader, which is another role, you should cooperate and help,” Estoperez added.
According to Estoperez, the enforcement group of the DA will continue to monitor and inspect the cold storage facilities.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Kristine Evangelista has vowed that cases of profiteering and price manipulation await traders and retailers who fail to comply with the SRP.
Evangelista added that during the stakeholders’ meeting on May 19, cold storage owners vowed to set the wholesale price for red onions at P115 per kilo and P100 per kilo for white onions. According to Evangelista, the Bureau of Plant Industry and the DA enforcement group led by Assistant Secretary for inspectorate and enforcement James Layug will monitor the inflow and outflow of onions in cold storage facilities to prevent hoarding. Evangelista said that under Republic Act 7581 or The Price Act, vendors and traders can face charges for profiteering and price manipulation as she gave assurance that the DA will work closely with the local price coordinating council to ensure compliance with the implementation of the Price Act. Vendor Julieta Presto in an earlier interview with The STAR said that it is “impossible” for them to comply with the SRP, saying they bought the bulbs at wholesale prices that were even higher than the SRP.
Presto noted that she sourced onions from Balintawak Market in Quezon City at wholesale price of P155 per kilo, higher than the P150 per kilo SRP for red onions.
For his part, farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura president Rosendo So said there is no reason for retailers not to comply with the P150 per kilo SRP for red onions and P140 per kilo for white onions as he encouraged consumers not to patronize retailers selling beyond the P150 per kilo SRP.
