JV Ejercito: File economic sabotage raps as more agri-smugglers operate in PH
December 12, 2022
Agricultural smugglers must be slapped with
non-bailable charges of economic sabotage to put illegal activities to a halt,
Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito said on Monday.
Ejercito made the remark as a farmers' group
warned the government that more than 20 smugglers are now bringing in white and
red onions, rice, and frozen meat products illegally to the Philippines.
“Dapat nang buwagin at matauhan ang mga grupo
na ito. Sampahan natin sila ng economic sabotage charges dahil walang bail ito.
Nakakapinsala na sila sa kabuhayan ng ating mga kababayang magsasaka,” the
Senator said.
“As the principal author of the
Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Law, nakalulungkot itong balita na marami pa ring
agri-smuggler na nag-o-operate sa ating bansa. It’s been six to seven years
since the law was passed, ngunit parang nabalewala lang ang batas,” he added.
In a radio interview, Samahang Industriya ng
Agrikultura (SINAG) president Rosendo So said there are numerous new smugglers
who were not included in the list of agricultural smugglers previously
submitted to the Senate.
The group is currently working with the
Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) in pressing economic
sabotage charges against individuals involved in bringing in P30 million worth
of smuggled white onions that were recently confiscated at the Manila
International Container Port.
Ejercito said the national government needs to
fully implement the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, which he principally
authored during his first term in the Senate, to address the rampant
agricultural smuggling in the country.
In previous hearings on the DA’s sugar fiasco,
he blasted agriculture officials for failing to implement the said measure and
promoting excessive importation, which continues to harm small farmers.
“We passed the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling
law, classifying large-scale agricultural smuggling as a heinous crime and an
economic sabotage. Kaso panay import na lang tayo. Kung hindi smuggled,
excessively imported naman ang mga produkto,” he said.
Earlier today, the lawmaker from San Juan
joined Senator Win Gatchalian and customs officials at the BOC headquarters in
Manila to conduct an ocular inspection and discussion on the agency’s
modernization program.
He said the BOC’s modernization efforts should
be geared toward curbing agricultural smuggling and addressing the alleged
widespread corruption within the agency.
“Mahalaga na mabantayan ang modernization
program na ito dahil laganap pa rin ang smuggling sa iba't ibang bahagi ng
bansa,” Ejercito said.
“Ang pagwakas sa agricultural smuggling, maging sa
malawakang katiwalian sa BOC, ang dapat maging pulo't dulo ng modernization ng
ating mga customs operations. We will be vigilant,” the lawmaker said.
