Ex-Agriculture chief in Philippines faces trial

The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and 23 others with graft. There are indications they had links to cartel operations responsible for a spike in garlic prices.

Already barred from government service, Proceso Alcala, the Aquino administration's Agriculture Secretary is facing another trial for graft over his alleged involvement in a garlic cartel.

In 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman barred Alcala from government service over the misuse of P13.5 million (€212,000 ) in a construction project and for illegally allowing the Department of Agriculture to resort to an alternative method of repeat ordering.

News.abs-cbn.com describes how the court has found probably cause to charge Alcala and 23 others for causing undue injury to the government. A scheme was set up that enabled the defendants to monopolize the garlic supply, allowing it to dictate its market prices. From January to July 2014, the extraordinary and alarming spike in the prices of imported and locally produced garlic was strongly felt by the public.

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