Lawmakers eye creation of 'onion competitiveness enhancement fund'

A bill providing for an Onion Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (OCEF) has been proposed in the House of Representatives.

House agriculture and food panel chairperson Mark Enverga of Quezon, House appropriations panel chairperson Elizaldy Co of Ako Bicol party-list, and House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo of Marikina City made the proposal under House Bill 8462 which states that the OCEF will be sourced from the entire proceeds from tariff revenues resulting from onion importation.

House Bill 8462 also states that the OCEF will be spent on development and support programs for the benefit of Philippine onion farmers and the country’s onion industry which include support for farming inputs and equipment as well as production technology, farmgate price support, credit, crop protection, storage and  cold storage facilities, extension services, and market information dissemination, among others.

House Bill 8462 further states that fund releases charged against the OCEF won’t be subjected to any ceiling by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The bill’s authors, in their explanatory note, said, they filed the measure as a result of the House’s nine public hearings investigating allegations of hoarding,  price manipulation, and cartel activities in the onion industry that resulted in retail prices of onions in the Philippines costing at P500-P800 per kilo during the last quarter of 2022.

“While evidence collected during the hearings point to the need for enhanced anti-cartel enforcement as a long-term solution to  the high prices of onions, short-term interventions are necessary, including the importation of  onions. It is important, however, that onion farmers will benefit entirely from the tariff  revenues,” the authors said in their explanatory note.

“Hence, this bill seeks to establish an Onion Competitiveness Enhancement Fund to support local farmers and boost their production efficiency, so that in the long-run, they are sufficiently capacitated to compete globally. In view of the foregoing, the passage of the bill is earnestly sought,” they added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News