A lawmaker filed on Monday a resolution seeking to conduct an inquiry into the reported selling of smuggled onions and other agricultural products on online platforms, which he described as being detrimental to the economy, the local agricultural industry, and the country’s farmers and fishermen.

Agri Partylist Representative Wilbert Lee stressed that the alleged unsolicited digital selling of onions reported on 20 February 2024 was “booming online.”

“These illegally sourced or ‘smuggled’ onions are sold for as low as P25 per kilo on Facebook,” said Lee, adding that the smuggled agricultural products pose threats to consumers since they failed to undergo phytosanitary analysis conducted to ensure their safety for human consumption.

“Filipino consumers are also at risk from food product smuggling, as uncontrolled importation is most likely to blame for plant and animal diseases like African swine fever and Cocolisap or coconut scale bug that have plagued the country and the livelihood of many Filipinos,” the lawmaker added.

Lee said that if this issue is not urgently addressed, the sale of smuggled agricultural products will “continue to proliferate,” which exposes many Filipinos to risks and jeopardizes the livelihood of local agricultural workers.

The latest price monitoring by the Department of Agriculture at major wet markets in Metro Manila showed that local red onions ranged from P60 to P130 per kilo, while medium-sized imported ones were sold at P90 to P100 per kilo.