I KNOW how the price of onions has skyrocketed and how people have complained about it. In fact, the increase in the price of onions has become not just a source of grievance, it has likewise become a source of so many memes on the internet. And obviously, anti-Marcos people have found a new issue to harangue him with.
Here in Dumaguete, I’ve encountered a lot of people who have also grumbled and whined about the high cost of onions.
Just recently, I read on one national daily that 10 flight attendants went to too much trouble to bring in 40 kilos of agricultural products including onions from the Middle East. I am not sure if the products were smuggled because those attendants need extra income or if they really needed to smuggle in those onions because onions here are very expensive.
To borrow Sen. JV Ejercito’s words, onions have replaced imported fruits, chocolates, perfume, and shoes as the Filipinos’ favorite “pasalubong” for their families. It appears that onions have become three times as expensive as chicken and up to 50% costlier than pork or beef.
I actually don’t know what’s in the onions and why their price has risen so high. But whatever the reason, I think, the issue with onions is more profound and graver than just the sneaking in of contraband pasalubong.
Some people say that the “onion crisis” is due to the lack of or poor planning by the Department of Agriculture (DA) which is incidentally still headed by no other than President Marcos Jr.
To quote Sen. Imee Marcos, “The price of onions has taken us on this mad rollercoaster ride during the last few months. It is apparent that there is an abject lack of planning [on the part of the DA],” she said.
The rumblings of the ordinary tao have now compelled the government to take desperate measures like the emergency importation of 21,060 metric tons of fresh yellow and red onions by Jan. 27 in a bid to stabilize prices that have skyrocketed by as much as 360% in just a year—from P200 to as much as P700, a price that breaches the minimum wage.
Other quarters have ventilated their oft-repeated call for Mr. Marcos to let go of the agriculture portfolio and appoint a full-time secretary accountable for solving this worsening food crisis. Most of them believe that this dilemma is a product of the Department’s lack (or absence) of a round-the-clock leader who could meticulously supervise the DA’s operations, most especially regarding the issue of the onions.
Indeed, if no sweeping reforms are done to resolve the root of the problem of these costly onions, we may be all crying even if we are not slicing an onion.
Other observers say that instead of endless discussions on this persistent issue, why not put forth and implement real, lasting solutions such as identifying and going after corrupt middlemen, shady cartels, and smugglers?
Me, I would say, why don’t we start planting onions in our backyards? Planting onions don’t take too much effort, time, and space.
If we grow our onions, we can save money, time, and effort in going to the market, and most important of all, we won’t have to “cry” over them.
