Senator Imee Marcos has raised red flags over the Department of Agriculture’s plan to import white onions. In statement, she questioned the DA’s ‘blanket claims’ about a local shortage of white onions without presenting proper inventory of the crop. The Agriculture Department is currently led by Imee’s brother, president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“The DA was urged to assess white onion shortage,” Marcos said in a statement. “Again, no data could be presented, just blanket claims that ‘the warehouses we inspected were really empty’."
Marcos also addressed the smuggling racket involving white onions into the country, including the creation of an artificial shortage of supply and she warned those involved. Around P36 million worth of misdeclared onions were recently confiscated in Misamis Oriental.
“We are aware of the modus operandi going on. It’s the same old story,” she said. “First, they smuggle. Then they create a shortage, and produce a legitimate import permit,” the senator explained. “By next week, I have no doubt smuggled onions will flood the market covered by a ‘legitimate’ importation order of gargantuan proportions.”
Source: politics.com.ph