House panel issues show cause order to ‘sick’ resource persons

The House agriculture and food panel issued Tuesday a show cause order requiring at least six officials of cold storage facilities and a trader to explain why they should not be cited in contempt over their failure to attend probe on exorbitant onion prices.

The House panel made the move after its chairperson Quezon Representative Mark Enverga said that the presence of these individuals are necessary in their probe.

These individuals include:

• Mary Ann Lim and Grace Ang Ong of Super 5 cold storage,
• Sherman Chan and Eric Fabilona of Tian Long cold storage,
• Vilma Camato, former operations manager of Argo storage,
• trader/owner Marlene Lamata of Rivson storage, and
• trader Lilia/Leah Cruz

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Super 5 officials each submitted a medical certificate read by Enverga. Lim is five-months pregnant and advised to take bed rest while Ong tested positive for COVID-19.

Tian Long’s Fabilona was in Hong Kong for an eye operation while Chan also did not show up. Lamata, who supposedly has upper respiratory tract infection, and Camato also submitted medical certificates that they are not feeling well.

Cruz, on the other hand, is confined in Metropolitan Medical Hospital due to bleeding.

“Ang daming maysakit,” Enverga said during the hearing.

“We issue a show cause order sa lahat ng wala,” Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga added.

House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo agreed.

“Mr. Chair, this is our sixth hearing, and it has been two hours and all we have talked about are the excuses of our resource persons. It is really very, very frustrating,” she said.

“Pati ba ba naman sa absences meron din cartel? I move that we issue a show cause order so they can explain to the committee why we should not be citing them in contempt for failure to give us sufficient basis for their absence. Of course, noting that such absences are an obstacle to arriving at the truth with respect to this very important concern,” Quimbo added.

Enverga’s panel approved Quimbo’s motion without any opposition, with the exception of Kim Kok Lim of Super 5 who has a renal disease and has been in and out of the hospital.—AOL, GMA Integrated News