A PYMNTS Company

Philippine Regulator To Wrap Up Onion ‘Cartel’ Probe This Month

By  |  February 27, 2023

The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) is closing in on a possible cartel, with chairman Arsenio Balisacan announcing that the investigation could be completed within the month.

“If it leads to nowhere, then there’s no use prolonging it. But if the evidence is there, and I believe they (will be) able to find evidence, then it should be done within the next two or three months,” Michael G. Aguinaldo said in a news conference in Quezon City on Monday.

Related: Philippine Watchdog Probes Suspected Onion Cartel

“The investigation is ongoing. There are no firm results yet because they’re still gathering a lot of information. The hearings in the Congress have also provided a great deal of information and so, our enforcement office is actually looking into it,” he added.

The competition regulator said on Feb. 16 that it is looking into whether the alleged onion cartel is behind the surge in prices, which it said hit a high of P600 per kilogram in December.