As the Christmas season approached, government agencies publicly pledged that essential food prices would be kept in check to ease household budgets.
Among the standout assurances was a suggested maximum retail price (MSRP) of ₱120 per kilo for onions which is a staple in every Filipino kitchen.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced this price ceiling to “cool soaring market prices” ahead of the holidays, citing imported onions with a landed cost of around ₱60 per kilo and observing local prices “reaching as high as ₱300 per kilo.”
This intervention was meant, at least on paper, to curb opportunistic mark-ups and protect consumers from profiteering during a period of higher demand.
Agriculture officials argued that such a cap would still allow “reasonable margins” across the supply chain while stabilizing prices in markets nationwide.
However, the lived experience of consumers paints a starkly different picture.
Despite the promise of onion prices capped at ₱120, market reality has seen onions consistently trading far above that mark in many areas, with prevailing prices around ₱320–₱360 per kilo in various wet markets nationwide.
These figures, widely reported anecdotally and observed by shoppers across Eastern Visayas, which starkly contrast with the government’s proclaimed ceiling and represent a failure to meaningfully translate policy pronouncements into on-the-ground affordability.
Compounding the credibility problem, the DA soon revised its own ceiling: in mid-December, the price cap for red onions was raised to ₱150 per kilo due to “rising supplier costs and a weaker peso,” while white onions remained at ₱120.
This adjustment, coming barely days after the original announcement, underscores the volatility in policy signals and the challenges in anchoring price expectations.
Critics argue that such rapid shifts send mixed messages to both consumers and market players, undermining confidence in official guidelines.
Yet the spotlight of criticism isn’t solely on the DA.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), mandated with consumer protection and fair trade enforcement, has also faced scrutiny for its holiday pricing guidance.
Earlier this season, the DTI released its Noche Buena price guide, ostensibly to help consumers plan their holiday shopping.
Among the assurances was a declaration that there would be no price increases on basic commodities through year’s end.
A claim that has been widely seen as disconnected from the realities at markets where onions and other essentials continue to trade significantly higher.
The result is a twin narrative of optimistic government pronouncements and grim consumer realities.
For ordinary families juggling budgets already stretched by inflation and cost-of-living pressures, seeing onions that are central to countless Filipino dishes, sold at nearly three times the “protected” price feeds into a sense of disillusionment.
There is a growing perception that policy gestures, however well-intentioned, risk devolving into performative assurances unless backed by rigorous enforcement, transparent market data, and real solutions to structural supply issues.
In all fairness, factors like delayed import arrivals and global supply pressures are real and cited by officials as complicating forces.
But without consistent enforcement of price ceilings or clear mechanisms to ensure promised supply arrives in time and at expected costs, such assurances ring hollow for consumers seeing ₱120 as a slogan rather than a reality at the sari-sari store or wet market counter.
Ultimately, this season’s pricing saga only highlights a persistent disconnect between policy pronouncements from agencies like the DTI and DA and the lived economic burdens of Filipino households especially on basics as fundamental as onions.
What also leaves a bad taste in the mouth is the fact that while Warays are suffering from high costs of goods and less income, our Congressmen are in the middle of charges of graft and corruption in a level never seen before.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #OpinYonCoverStory #DTI #DA #NocheBuena