Senators expressed their dismay on Monday over the controversy surrounding Philippine Airlines (PAL) crew members who brought onions to the Philippines as “pasalubong” (souvenir).

Senators JV Ejercito and Raffy Tulfo expressed disapproval of the PAL crew members’ punishment while allowing the major traffickers to escape punishment.

“‘Yung PAL crew, nagdadala ‘yan ng pasalubong for personal consumption. Dati, mansanas, ubas, pabango, sapatos. Ngayon, sibuyas na ang kanilang pinapasalubong sa kanilang mga pamilya. So, this is already a cause of alert,” Ejercito said during the Senate committee on agriculture, food, and agrarian reform hearing.

According to Ejercito, the airline crew members’ seized onions are worth between $100 and $150.

“Ito papatulan natin pero ‘yung mga big-time na cartel, smuggler, protektor, nakakalusot?” he asked.

Tulfo shared Ejercito’s view and said the matter is “unacceptable.”

“Uminit ang ulo ko. Bureau of Customs, pinaghuhuli ‘nyo itong mga airline crew, hinarang ‘nyo pampasalubong lang. Bakit ‘yung malalaking big-time smugglers na paulit-ulit na binabanggit… hindi ‘nyo pinaghuhuli at pinagkukulong?” Tulfo asked Customs officials present during the Senate hearing.

“Dapat priority ’nyo ‘yung mga big-time [smugglers]. Bakit hindi ‘nyo paghuhulihin? Siguro nasa opisina ‘nyo palagi. This is unacceptable,” he added.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) found 11 kilograms of onions on the crew of a PAL plane from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The crew members will have to pay a fine for breaking the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and the Plant Quarantine Decree of 1978.

The committee is investigating why onions are becoming more expensive in the country.

The Department of Agriculture said that onion prices dropped over the weekend, from around P250 per kilo to P400 per kilo in some areas.