House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo on Wednesday called out Agriculture department officials after they failed to explain the exponential rise of onion demand in 2022.
Quimbo, citing the data submitted by the Bureau of Plant Industry to the House food and agriculture committee, said the BPI should be able to explain why the demand for onions increased by 39% in 2022 when the annual increase recorded in the period from years 2011 to 2021 was only around 5%.against the supply of 338,354 metric tons, resulting in a modest shortage.
Arnold Timoteo of the Department of Agriculture's High Value Crops Development Program responded by saying that the shortage “was due to wastage” but he was quickly interrupted by Quimbo, who was asking for reasons as to why the demand increased. “With [over] 363,000 metric tons of demand, there is an unmet need. Puede ipaliwanag niyo ito? This [39%] is [from] your own submission. Kung wala kayong paliwanag, iniimbento nito ‘yan at jinu-justify ninyo ang shortage,” Quimbo added.
“This is so alarming. Nasusunog na ang pabrika, hindi niyo po alam. Lahat kami nagtataka bakit mataas ang presyo ng sibuyas. The only thing telling the truth here is the high prices because there is a shortage. The question is, who produced these [Powerpoint] slides [on onion supply and demand]?” Quimbo said.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Moderate your greed': Romualdez vows House crackdown on onion smugglers'Give us fair prices. If not, your days are numbered, we’re going after you,' says Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the House conducts an inquiry into the onion fiasco.
Read more »
House clears freelance workers protection bill | Jovee Marie de la CruzTHE House of Representatives on Monday approved on third and final reading the proposed Freelance Workers Protection Act. Voting 250 affirmative, 0 negative and 0 abstention, members of the chamber passed House Bill 6718, providing protection and relief to over 1.5 million Filipino freelance workers who may fall prey to…
Read more »
House bill seeks paternity leave extensionMANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo wants to extend to a month the weeklong paternity leave and include unmarried working fathers living in with the mother among the
Read more »
House approves Eddie Garcia billMANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has passed on final reading a measure, which seeks to protect workers and independent contractors in the film, television, and radio
Read more »
Salceda explains why he's letting another House panel finish probe on agri smugglingThe Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda-led Committee on Ways and Means will give way to another House panel regarding the chamber’s inquiry on the onion price surge and agricultural smuggling.
Read more »
House eyes more evidence-based policies, inks MOA with Ateneo for research“It has been our dream to bring about a smarter House of Representatives, one that is equipped with the means by which we can effectively pursue evidence-based and people-oriented legislation in a timely manner. This morning’s signing of the MOA is an important step in the realization of this dream,” Romualdez said in his speech.
Read more »