DA: Confiscated white onions to be sold at Kadiwa stalls

The sacks of white onions recently confiscated in Divisoria in Manila are set to be sold at Kadiwa stalls at a cheaper price, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Sunday.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez allayed concerns about the confiscated sacks of white onions by authorities which were allegedly smuggled into the country.

The onions, estimated to be worth P3.9 million, were loaded onto a truck of the Philippine National Police and brought to a warehouse of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) for inventory, according to a News Live report on Saturday.

BPI said the onions had no phytosanitary permit, meaning, they may not be safe for human consumption as these may contain certain chemicals. The onions were supposed to be shredded then made into compost.

Estoperez, however, said these onions needed to undergo phytosanitary inspection first before they could be sold at Kadiwa stalls.

“Ang tanong namin ay kapag ‘yan ba ay nilabas sa merkado, sa Kadiwa, ligal o maayos ba ‘yan? Bago natin ilalabas ‘yan, tignan muna kung safe ‘yan o hindi kasi hindi natin masasabi,” he said.

(We were asking if it would be legal or safe to release them in the market or in Kadiwa stalls. Before we release them, let’s see first if they’re safe or not.)

“Sabi naman ni Usec. [Domingo] Panganiban, ‘Sige tignan niyo at gawin natin, ituloy natin ‘yan, ilagay natin sa mga Kadiwa para makabili ng mura ‘yung ating kababayan,’” he added.

(Usec Panganiban said, 'Let's inspect them and put them at the Kadiwa so that our countrymen can buy them cheaply.)

Estoperez also answered in the affirmative when asked whether the onions were already inspected and found safe for consumption.

He also said they have been checking the onion inventories in cold storage facilities since the issue on the spike of onion prices was raised.

However, he stressed that the DA has not yet issued a certificate of necessity to import, despite earlier saying that the agency was considering the possible importation of onions to fill the market demand.

“Wala tayong in-issue na certificate of necessity to import, so therefore lahat ng mga pumapasok na ‘yan ay mukhang iligal,” he said.

(We haven't issued a certificate of necessity to import, so therefore all those onions coming in appear to be illegal.)

Estoperez said that the current inventory of red onions is at around 13,000 metric tons, and they expect to harvest 5,000 metric tons more by the first week or second week of December. —KG, GMA Integrated News