Laurel to blacklist ‘smuggler’ friends

Laurel to blacklist ‘smuggler’ friends | Daily Tribune

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he would soon blacklist the 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 [them],” 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 said, adding that what these smugglers are doing is “economic sabotage.”

Before his appointment as the Agriculture secretary, Laurel, a billionaire, was president of Frabelle Fishing Corp., a leading deep-sea fishing company trading in 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 their illegal acts,” he said.

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

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

Laurel, moreover, said the DA and the Food and Drug Administration will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to check 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 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 the DA but under the 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 arm as well. When that happens, then we can better solve your agri-smuggling,” Laurel said.

He said the DA will blacklist in the coming months four importers — two from the fishing industry, one from rice, and one from sugar.