'All-out war' vs agri smugglers declared

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) declared an “all-out war” against agricultural smugglers as they led the inspection of two 40-foot containers of smuggled agricultural products worth P12.96 million at the Manila International Container Port on 27 October.

Pangilinan, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, has been holding public hearings on the state of the agriculture sector and the impact of agricultural smuggling on farmers, fisherfolk, the economy, and consumers.

“What’s important here is that our Senate Committee on Agriculture and the BOC are working together,” he said.

Pangilinan has so far cited in contempt five individuals—including brokers and a BOC deputy collector at the Port of Subic—for failing to cooperate with his committee’s investigation into rampant agricultural smuggling at the country’s ports.

“If at all, that’s an indicator of how serious we are, how serious the BOC is. We have been coordinating with the BOC since Day 1 of our smuggling hearings. They have been providing us the necessary documents and information,” he said.

Pangilinan added that he will meet with the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice, and the National Bureau of Investigation to begin building up cases and filing non-bailable charges against smugglers under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law.

He pointed out that charges will be filed not only against brokers, consignees, and warehouse owners, but also against large-scale smuggling operators, including government officials.

On Monday, Pangilinan and BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla led the inspection of two containers with misdeclared frozen chicken breasts and fish balls at the MICP with an estimated value of P12.96 million.

The shipments were originally declared to contain 5,300 cartons of fish balls but were later found to hold sacks of frozen chicken breasts instead.

Pangilinan raised concern that the chicken breasts may be unfit for human consumption after receiving intelligence reports that most smuggled agricultural products shipped from China may pose health risks to consumers.

“They have the audacity to bring it in and do something stupid. Is this salvaged value? I mean, it was bought in China, it should be thrown away, but because it’s cheap, it was brought here—is that the system?” he asked.

“We want to check because that’s how it is. That’s where the disease comes from,” he added.

The senator cited the P130 billion in losses suffered by the hog industry in 2019 due to the African Swine Fever outbreak, which devastated both small-scale and commercial hog farms.

“Are we being poisoned because we don’t know if it’s edible or recycled or bought for disposal in China—bought very cheaply, brought here, sold cheaply? That’s why our poultry industry is dying, because chickens from other countries are being dumped and sold here,” he said.

Pangilinan expressed optimism that with BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio and Deputy Commissioner Michael Angelo Vargas Nepomuceno leading the agency, coordination in cracking down on smugglers will improve.

He also vowed to support the BOC’s modernization efforts to strengthen transparency and ensure that proper duties and taxes are collected.