HOUSE Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Sunday vowed to incarcerate anyone who will lie to the House Committee on Agriculture and Food.
This, as the panel resumes its inquiry on Tuesday into the hoarding of agricultural products seen to have induced the skyrocketing of prices of onion and other products as well.
In a statement, Romualdez said lawmakers are working to unmask unscrupulous financiers and traders behind the onion and vegetable cartel in its hearings, as they have demonstrated their resolve by citing in contempt and detaining three officials of Argo International Forwarders Inc. for refusing to cooperate with their investigation.
According to Rep. Mark Enverga of Quezon Province, who is also chair of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, the citation for contempt was lifted after the three assured the panel that they would cooperate and submit documents that could help establish price manipulation of onion, as well as provide leads to the identity of the cartel’s leaders.
“I cannot stress enough for these resource persons the importance of cooperating with the committee: lie to lawmakers, and you will all find yourselves in jail,” warned Romualdez, as he pointed out that the committee’s mission is to reduce the prices of onions and dismantle the vegetable cartel.
“We need to lower the prices of onions and decimate the cartel [as soon as] possible,” he added. “And I guarantee the imprisonment of those exploitative, abusive individuals and business owners behind the cartel. Our constituents need an immediate reprieve from the high prices of agricultural goods
The lawmaker from Leyte also warned those conniving with the onion cartel: “The committee will not spare anyone who helped these unscrupulous individuals—even those from the government. You are equally guilty of causing the suffering of [Filipinos].”
Echoing statements made by Enverga and SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, the house speaker said he expects the cooperation of Argo’s president and general manager Efren Zoleta Jr., operations manager John Patrick Sevilla and their legal counsel Jan Ryan Cruz in identifying the hoarders.
“Let your detention by the committee be a lesson: If you will not tell us the truth, we will send you to jail,” he said, while noting that it was only after being cited in contempt and spending some time in detention at the House of Representatives that the Argo officials eventually agreed to help in the committee’s probe on onion hoarding. .”