DA chief to blacklist agri smugglers, including 'friends'

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., a fishing tycoon, says he will soon blacklist smugglers of some agricultural commodities, including his friends.

“You will see [that] in the next few months, I will blacklist many companies. Those smugglers, even my friends, I will blacklist,” he told reporters during a dinner conversation in Makati City on Wednesday.

“Because I know what they are doing, and we are just getting proof,” Laurel added, saying what these smugglers do is "economic sabotage."

Before his appointment as the Department of Agriculture (DA) chief, Laurel, a billionaire, was the president of the Frabelle Fishing Corporation, a leading deep-sea fishing company globally supplying sardines, mackerel, round scad, skipjack, frigate, and yellowfin tuna.

“Now that I'm in government, it's really hard for me to fix it and lessen this. Right? Those smugglers are destroying the industry by undercutting everybody because of the illegal acts," he said.

Hence, Laurel said the DA will be stricter with the declaration of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) on the unloading of goods from shipments.

"Now, I made a new rule that when your ship leaves the origin, after 24 hours, they have to declare by email to BOC [Bureau of Customs], to us, and DA-IE [Department of Agriculture - Inspectorate and Enforcement] what valid SPSIC they can use on the ship. Now they can't get through."

Laurel, moreover, said the DA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure the avoidance of the smuggling of agricultural commodities. 

"There is a disconnect now. In the DA [the smugglers] can't get through, because it's under my control. Now the smugglers are using the loophole saying that it is processed goods. Then these will enter,  in front [it says] processed goods [but] in the back agri [products]..Peking duck or whatever. Because the processed goods are not under DA, it's under FDA. That's the problem," he explained.

"[FDA Director General Dr. Samuel Zacate] and I have talked. We agreed that we would have an MOU within the year. And they will deputize the DA-IE to be their enforcement as well. When that happens, then we can better solve your agri-smuggling," he added.

Laurel said he will be blacklisting in the coming months four importers—two from the fishing industry, one from rice, and one from sugar.