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This July 29, 2022 file photo shows Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa ‘Imee’ Marcos at the premiere of 'Maid in Malacañang,' of which she is a producer, at a mall in Quezon City. AFP PHOTO
By Bernadette E. Tamayo, Manila Times
SEN. Maria Imelda Josefa "Imee" Marcos said she is "unconvinced" there is a shortage of white onions because the Department of Agriculture (DA) has not presented an inventory of the crop.
Marcos renewed her tirade against the Agriculture department, this time for its reported plan to import white onions.
"The DA was urged to assess white onion shortage, as it was asked on sugar and porcine PAP (processed animal protein) shortages," she said in a statement on Sunday.
"Again, no data could be presented, just blanket claims that, 'Wala po talagang laman ang mga bodegang pinuntahan namin (The warehouses we inspected were really empty),'" she said.
"Tama na, buking na. Hindi na kami magpapaloko (Enough of this deceit. You can't fool us anymore)," Marcos said.
She earlier blasted the attempt to import sugar under a dubious authority that forced the resignation of a top Agriculture official.
"Let this serve as a fair warning to all concerned. We are aware of the modus operandi going on. It's the same old story. Paulit-ulit na lang, eh (It just keeps repeating itself)," Marcos said.
"First, they smuggle. Then they create a shortage and produce a legitimate import permit. By next week, I have no doubt smuggled onions will flood the market covered by a 'legitimate' importation order of gargantuan proportions," she said.
The senator noted that at the height of the sugar import fiasco last week, about P36 million worth of onions misdeclared as "spring roll patties" and "plain churros" were confiscated in Misamis Oriental.
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