MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has appointed a new assistant secretary for consumer affairs, the position vacated by a dismissed official who was implicated in the onion mess in December 2022 with retail prices of the bulbs reaching as high as P720 per kilo.
Laurel named lawyer Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra as head of the Department of Agriculture Consumer Affairs – a post previously occupied by former DA assistant secretary Kristine Evangelista.
The Office of the Ombudsman ordered Evangelista and 17 others charged criminally in connection with the onion controversy. It also ordered her dismissal from service.
Laurel previously appointed Guevarra as head of the DA’s Kadiwa Program, also previously handled by Evangelista. The expansion of Kadiwa outlets in the country was among the priority programs of President Marcos when he was still concurrent secretary of the DA.
The DA has said that the increase in the number of Kadiwa centers is among the achievements of President Marcos during his stint as department chief. It added that Marcos was able to increase the stores that offer farm products at affordable prices, from 200 to 627 outlets.
Aside from Evangelista, the Ombudsman also ordered the filing of graft and falsification charges against Food Terminal Inc. vice-president for operations John Gabriel Benedict Trinidad III and 16 other individuals after the FTI procured onions from the Bonena Multipurpose Cooperative at higher prices and were sold to the Kadiwa stores at lower retail prices.
In a 26-page resolution, the ombudsman said it found probable cause to indict Evangelista and Trinidad with violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and falsification of documents as defined and penalized under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code.