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Pattern of manipulation: Sen. Cynthia Villar asks Trade Sec. Alfredo Pascual Wednesday, February 1, 2023, to act on the recurring problem of price increases especially in agricultural products. During the Commission on Appointments' committee deliberation on Pascual's ad interim appointment, Villar urged the Department of Trade and Industry to put its foot down in implementing price control policies against "unreasonable" costs of goods. The government, she added, should not tolerate unscrupulous traders. "There seems to be a pattern of manipulation," lamented Villar, who recently led a legislative inquiry on the soaring prices of onions in Philippine markets. "Like they are doing it on purpose because prices are too much...We must do something more serious about this, because it's a pattern," she said in a mix of Filipino and English. Villar chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform. (Bibo Nueva España/Senate PRIB)