Prosecution of individuals linked to garlic cartel pushed

MANILA, Philippines -  Sen. Cynthia Villar cited yesterday the need for the government to prosecute private individuals and public officials found to be involved in a garlic cartel that was responsible for runaway prices of the product.

Villar appealed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to dig deeper into the alleged garlic cartel to determine those who should be held criminally liable and if there are several cartels in the agricultural sector.

The 32-page report of the DOJ-Office for Competition revealed that a certain Lilia Cruz, also known as Leah Cruz, and three other individuals are involved in the garlic cartel in the country.

They reportedly use dummy importers in their operations.

It was also discovered that the lack of transparency and clear-cut guidelines in the Bureau of Plant Industry permit system abetted the establishment of a garlic cartel, possibly with the collusion of some BPI and Department of Agriculture (DA) officials.

The DOJ report said Cruz cornered at least 75 percent of the total garlic importation in the country.

Villar, chairman of the Senate agriculture and food committee, conducted public hearings on the issue last July.

It was uncovered that the abusive 900 percent profit margin on garlic benefited importers and foreign producers and not local garlic farmers.

During the hearing, Villar noted that the high price of garlic is due to manipulation because traders buy the import privilege from garlic cooperatives at a very low rate.

“We then urged all concerned government agencies to strike hard on garlic traders who are said to profit some P26 billion annually,” said Villar, who was happy the committee’s initial findings on the issue of price manipulation jibed with those of the DOJ and the NBI.

“I hope this could serve as warning to others who are engaged in this kind of modus operandi to stop their illicit operations or face charges. We are here to protect all industry players, especially our garlic farmers,” she said.

Villar also bared plans to review the mandate of the National Garlic Action Team (NGAT), which appears to be influenced by traders and cooperatives who are members of the organization.

The NGAT is a multi-stakeholder body under the DA which was formed in 2012 to ensure stable garlic supply in the country.

The senator noted that NGAT had failed to serve its primary purpose and to ensure a balanced representation from both government and private sectors.