DA orders halt on suspected agri smuggling shipments
Crackdown on agricultural contraband intensifies as BOC flagged to intercept 59 containers in Subic.
Daily TribuneCrackdown on agricultural contraband intensifies as BOC flagged to intercept 59 containers in Subic.
THE DA warns that misdeclaring sensitive goods like onions and fish as processed food not only dodges strict inspections but also risks public health and hurts local producers.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Agriculture
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is ramping up enforcement efforts against agricultural smuggling as it flagged 59 container vans recently unloaded at the Subic Bay Freeport for suspected illegal contents, primarily onions and fish.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Tuesday urged the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to halt the release of the containers pending investigation, amid what the agency described as increasingly sophisticated attempts to bypass import regulations.
“Under the new Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law, we can pursue not just consignees, but customs brokers, transporters, sellers, and buyers. Smuggling is no longer a victimless crime – we are going after the entire supply chain,” Tiu Laurel said.
The DA emphasized that smuggling not only distorts domestic market prices and hurts Filipino producers but also poses risks to public health due to the questionable safety of misdeclared and unregulated goods entering the market.
According to the DA, importers have been known to misdeclare sensitive commodities like frozen mackerel or fresh onions as processed food to avoid strict agricultural inspection protocols.
This misrepresentation shifts regulatory oversight from the DA’s frontline agencies, namely the Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry, and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which falls under the Department of Health (DOH).
The authority to seize such misdeclared goods rests with the BOC, an agency under the Department of Finance.
In a separate anti-smuggling operation at the Port of Manila on the same day, a joint inspection team composed of the DA, DOH, FDA, and BOC intercepted six container vans that were also misdeclared as processed foods.
Authorities uncovered more than 100 tons of fresh onions and frozen mackerel worth around P34 million, consigned to Latinx Consumer Goods Trading and Lexxa Consumer Goods Trading, two companies now facing potential blacklisting by the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry.
Secretary Tiu Laurel revealed that the Subic-bound containers are linked to five trading firms that are also under review and may face blacklisting.
Last year, the DA blacklisted 18 importers, more than the total combined in the previous ten years, in what officials describe as a renewed effort to clean up the country’s import supply chain.
Tiu Laurel added that with most smuggled products traced to China, the agency is finalizing a country-specific risk assessment strategy to strengthen customs screening and early detection protocols.
“With unified efforts from the DA, DOH, and DOF, we can protect our farmers and ensure fair trade,” he said.
