THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said its investigation for a possible cartel on onions may be done within the next two to three months, once firm evidence of such is found.
PCC’s newly-appointed Chairperson Michael G. Aguinaldo said there are no “firm” results yet because they’re still gathering a lot of information.
“There are hearings at Congress that also provided a great deal of information and so our enforcement office is looking into it,” Aguinaldo said at a press briefing on Monday in Quezon City.
The PCC head said the challenge with cartels or anti-competitive agreements is it’s quite difficult to prove “because you’re looking at having to prove an agreement actually exists among major players and usually you won’t find something like that in writing.”
But, Aguinaldo said, if the evidence is there and there are people who are “willing to spill the beans,” then it’s something that can be pursued.
“If the evidence is there, and I believe we are able to find evidence, then it should be done within the next two to three months,” the PCC chief stressed.
He said the antitrust agency is coordinating with all the different agencies involved since he said, “I don’t think a single agency can fix that.”
In a statement it released on February 16, the antitrust body announced that it has been investigating the high prices of onions for a possible cartel since November 2022.
According to PCC, it launched its market assessment as the onion retail prices have been observed at “unusual high range” and peaked at P600/kilo in December 2022.
The agency warned that under the Philippine Competition Act (PCA), businesses found to have taken advantage of the situation may be fined up to P100 million, and even face jail time of up to seven years.
The fines, it added, may even be tripled if trade of basic necessities, including agricultural products identified by the Price Act, are involved in cartel or abuse of dominance violations.
Meanwhile, Aguinaldo said “the kind of behavior we’re looking at is possibly hoarding as being the cause for the rise in prices. That’s one of the things we’re looking at.”
He said this could fall under anti-competitive agreements or abuse of dominant positions, adding that “it could fall under either one whether you’re looking at supply restriction.”
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza