The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday it has blacklisted three food importers due to non-compliance in securing sanitary import clearance while five more import licenses were suspended due to illegal trade activities.

Blacklisted by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) on 21 May was LVM Grains Enterprises, which imported milled rice, cashew nuts and coffee without the necessary sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPICs).

Similarly, BPI blacklisted Kysse Lishh Consumer Goods Trading and Golden Rays Consumer Goods Trading for importing onions and oranges without SPIC permits and import licenses.

According to the DA, the Philippine Competition Commission is leading the prosecution of the three companies accused of engaging in anti-competitive trade activities.

Meanwhile, five other firms’ import licenses have been suspended for revocation due to misdeclarations, illegal importation and anti-competitive trade practices.

However, BPI director Glenn Panganiban said that the identities of the five importers will be withheld due to the pending cases.

“Until their cases are resolved, however, they cannot transact with BPI,” Panganiban said.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, on the other hand, stressed that the agency will not turn a blind eye to the importers’ illegal practices that undermine government revenues and put public health at risk.

“To do so would be to abdicate our sworn duty to protect our farmers and the Filipino consumers,” Laurel said.

To recall, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in September, signed into law the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, which treats smuggling and hoarding of agricultural food products as economic sabotage when the value of goods exceeds P10 million.

Under this law, creating cartels and financing smugglers and hoarders is also considered economic sabotage.