MANILA -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will impose a suggested retail price (SRP) on onions to control its price and ensure sufficient supply in the market, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Thursday.

The DTI will implement an SRP of P250 per kilo on red onions effective Friday, December 30.

“We will stick firmly to the recommended price. The DTI will continue to monitor. We’re trying to find ways to bring the smuggled onions that have been caught na ilagay na sa market para mabawasan ang supply problem,” President Marcos said as he assured Filipino consumers of sufficient supply of onion at affordable prices.

“But there are some legal issues in doing that immediately. So we’re still working on that. But we will keep the prices down by monitoring what’s happening in our palengke,” the President pointed out.

Some lawmakers have called for an inquiry on the soaring prices of local onions amid the recent flooding of imported varieties and the reported rampant smuggling from other countries.

Department of Agriculture (DA) officials attributed the spike in the prices of white onions to a supply shortfall after many onion farmers have shifted to planting the red onion variety.

Meanwhile, President Marcos said he may visit areas affected by the shear line after his China visit on Jan. 3 to 5  to know the condition on the ground.

“Unfortunately, tuloy-tuloy pa rin ‘yung ulan. So we have to keep watching the other areas also... but yes, probably if there is a reason to go,” Marcos said as he noted that personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have so far done their job in providing relief assistance to affected families and individuals. 

“But it always helps to go and see for yourself. So I’ll try to make the time to go," the chief executive said.

Heavy rains submerged rural villages, towns and highways in the Visayas and Mindanao regions on Christmas Day, forcing many people to flee their homes.

Authorities reported multiple deaths and thousands of families still sheltering in evacuation centers as of Thursday.

A new low-pressure system may bring moderate to heavy rains to the same areas in the eastern, central and southern part of the country that have been affected by the floods, according to weather forecasters. (PND)