Amid the continuing entry of smuggled agricultural products and the struggles of farmers, livestock raisers and fisherfolk, Senator Cynthia Villar wondered why Republic Act 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, has not been implemented.

The law was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last 26 September.

“I already passed that. It’s a tough law not just for smugglers but for profiteers, among other menaces in the agriculture sector. The only problem is it is not being implemented. Well, it’s up to them. That law went through hurdles because some personalities were lobbying against it. President Marcos even called it the Villar Bill because even with so many lobbying against it, I never gave up,” Villar said during a roundtable discussion with editors and reporters of DAILY TRIBUNE on Tuesday at the publication’s office in Makati City.

The bill defines the crime of agricultural economic sabotage as any act or activity that disrupts the economy by creating an artificial shortage, promoting excessive importation, manipulating prices and supply, evading payment or underpaying tariffs and customs duties, threatening local production and food security, gaining excessive or exorbitant profits by exploiting situations, creating scarcity, and entering into agreements that defeat fair competition to the prejudice of the public.

Last 30 October, the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) intercepted 588 metric tons of frozen mackerel worth P178.5 million at the Manila International Container Terminal that was illegally imported from China, proving that some individuals were not afraid to illegally import agricultural products into the country.

Villar said the law does not have to have implementing rules and regulations as the law itself is the IRR.

“My former Anti-Agricultural Smuggling law failed because the one that crafted the IRR was the executive (branch). They gave all the power to the BoC, which was the agency we were watching, and they gave all the power to it. That is why when I asked Senator (Francis) Tolentino what to do with the IRR, he said to put down — No IRR. The law is the IRR,” she said.

She said earmarking the measure as having no IRR is possible “as long as the law is detailed and the nitty gritty is there.”

“The need for this law to be implemented well is a tougher oversight. Because under this law, if you are a government official and you are found guilty, it’s life imprisonment,” she said.

Racket in cold storage facilities

Villar said that cold storage facilities in the provinces are there to serve the farmers and fisherfolk, yet some erring regulators, even local government units, use them for profit.

“During the onion shortage last year in which the price of onions reached P800 per kilo, we investigated that. An onion farmer said their onions were purchased for only P8 per kilo, although they invested P25. I asked them why, and they answered that they didn’t have cold storage so it would rot. So even at a loss they sold their onions. The onions bought at P8 were sold at P800 in Metro Manila,” she said.

Later, they discovered the government had provided cold storage facilities to the farmers, but they were being rented out to traders.

“With the current law, if a government official did that, he would go to jail. Looking at these instances, you’d go crazy,” Villar, chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform and sponsor of the measure in the Senate, said.

Earlier, the lawmaker admitted that severe penalties are needed to deter smuggling and abusive market practices that threaten the well-being of agricultural producers and the welfare of the consumers and the economy as a whole.

Under the law, a person found guilty of agricultural smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, or engaging in a cartel will face life imprisonment and a fine triple the value of the agricultural and fishery products involved in the crime.

Further, RA 12022 creates the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Council, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Enforcement Group, as well as a special team of prosecutors all over the country which shall evaluate the evidence, act on criminal complaints, initiate and conduct a preliminary investigation, and timely file the appropriate criminal charges and prosecute the persons who committed prohibited acts under the law.