119 sued over garlic price manipulation

Ex-plant bureau chief, importers tagged in collusion  

MANILA, Philippines - More than 100 individuals, including a former head of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and two of his subordinates, have been slapped with criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged role in the spike in garlic prices last year.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed a complaint against former BPI director Clarito Barron for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code that punishes bribery.

“They’re so brazen. Last year they thought they could get away with it through shortage excuse,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said yesterday as she announced that the NBI found 119 individuals culpable.

De Lima said the NBI would file a second set of complaints – possibly today – with the Department of Justice (DOJ), which would conduct a preliminary investigation before filing appropriate charges.

Barron, sacked in the middle of the investigation into the anomaly last year, was the highest ranking government official to be held accountable for the sharp rise in the prices of garlic, which was blamed on the operation of a cartel in cahoots with some officials.

Under the current system, clearances from BPI serve as import permits for garlic traders.

Findings showed that Barron granted garlic importation permits to questionable importers or dummy companies of importer and Vieva Phils. chairman Lilia Cruz, also known as Lea Cruz, in exchange for P240,000.

“The charges for violation of Section 3 (b) of R.A. 3019 and Article 210 are in connection with his having allegedly ‘accepted the amount of P240,000 during his incumbency as BPI director from Ms. Lilybeth Valenzuela,’” the NBI report read, referring to the Vieva president.

He was accused of violating RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for “willfully giving the importers under Vieva Phils., headed by subject Lilia/Lea Cruz unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference” in the performance of their function as the issuing authority of import permits.

Investigators from the NBI Anti-Graft Division led by lawyer Romulo Asis said Cruz also violated Section 5 of Republic Act 7581, which prohibits price manipulation, as well as Article 186 of the Revised Penal Code, which bars monopolies.

Barron and Cruz are also facing obstruction of justice charges for refusing to with NBI’s investigation, together with 36 other private individuals.

Also accused of giving “unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference” to importers under Vieva were Plant Quarantine Services (PQS) officer-in-charge Merle Bautista-Palacpac and former PQS chief Luben Quijano Marasigan. Palacpac and Marasigan are under Barron’s office.

Initially, a supply shortage was blamed for the spike in garlic prices. But findings by the Department of Justice’s Office for Competition showed that some government officials were colluding with traders to dictate market prices.

“Importation of garlic in the country is controlled mainly by at least four known individuals and allies’ interests through a web of dummy entities duly accredited by the Bureau of Plant Industry,” read a DOJ-OFC report.

“In particular, a person named Lilia Cruz, alias Leah Cruz, cornered at least 75 percent of the total garlic importation in the country by virtue of such import permits,” it added.

The NBI would later uphold the DOJ-OFC report.

“NBI found that the issuance of import permits was limited to a certain group of garlic importers in collusion with some BPI officials. This is the group of Vegetables Importers, Exporters and Vendors Association of the Philippines, Incorporated (Vieva), which is headed by Lilia Cruz a.k.a. Lea Cruz,” the NBI said.

Groups not affiliated with Cruz, meanwhile, were “seldom given” import permits despite their full compliance with requirements set by BPI.

Cruz’s influence in BPI “can be traced way back to 2010 or even earlier,” it said.

Agribusiness alliance Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) welcomed the move of the NBI.

“We thank the NBI for nailing this garlic cartel,” SINAG chairman Rosendo So said in a statement.

SINAG has long been pushing for government action against unscrupulous traders and smugglers who were reportedly conniving with officials to manipulate garlic prices.

SINAG stressed that local garlic producers are still struggling to recover from the “20-year policy of importation and smuggling in lieu of domestic production.”

“With less than 15 percent of the country’s garlic requirements produced locally, importers and traders that form the garlic cartel continue to dictate prices since there’s no local production to counter the steep price of imported and/or smuggled garlic,” So added.

But So said the agriculture sector is seeing a steady revival in the last few years. “Local producers are again encouraged and revitalized to produce the country’s food needs.”

SINAG is also appealing to consumers to patronize local garlic and other local agricultural products to stimulate domestic agriculture.

Only around 30 percent of the country’s garlic requirements are produced locally while the rest are imported.

In June, the average retail price of both imported and local garlic in major trading centers in Metro Manila rose to as much as P290 per kilogram and P180 per kilogram, respectively.

The prevailing retail price for local garlic was double the then average farmgate price of P100 to P130 per kilogram. – Czeriza Valencia