Vida: Seized agricultural, fishery products can be donated

Justice Acting Secretary Frederrick Vida said the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage (AAES) council should set guidelines allowing the donation of seized agricultural and fishery products that are safe for human consumption.

This was the recommendation of Vida in a legal opinion issued on 12 December 2025 addressed to Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Frederick D. Go.

The acting Department of Justice chief said the AAES council, in consultation with the DOF and Bureau of Customs (BOC), must adopt the necessary guidelines so that smuggled goods certified safe and fit for consumption may, under interagency supervision and with the approval of the Secretary of Finance, be donated to appropriate beneficiaries pursuant to Section 1141 of Republic Act (RA) No. 10863, the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Vida said in the recommendation, “The power to create these rules stems from the specific law itself, often containing a provision that mandates the relevant agency to issue rules and regulations to ‘effectively implement the provisions of this Act’ and harmonize with other related laws.”

The legal opinion was sought in response to the AAES Executive Committee meeting last 29 August 2025, where the BOC expressed intent to turn over forfeited fishery products that were seized in a joint operation conducted by several agencies.

The AAES Executive Committee, however, expressed concern over the need to harmonize the CMTA and RA No. 12022, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act (AAES Act).

Vida said Section 19 of the AAES Act provides that smuggled agricultural and fishery products shall be destroyed after judicial inspection, while locally sourced products involved in hoarding, profiteering, or cartel may be donated to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) or local government units (LGUs), or otherwise disposed of in accordance with law.

Vida said despite the clear wording of the law, the DOJ believes that “smuggled agricultural and fishery products may still be donated, provided it (the donation) be coursed through the BOC, pursuant to Section 20 of the AAES Act in relation to Section 1141 of the CMTA.”

The DOJ chief pointed out that the jurisdiction and powers of the BOC remain intact and include “the BOC's authority to dispose of smuggled goods, and under certain circumstances, donate these to other government agencies, such as the DSWD, pursuant to Section 1141 of the CMTA.”

Likewise, Vida said that allowing the donation of smuggled but safe and fit-for-human-consumption agricultural and fishery products aligns with the declared policy of the AAES Act to protect consumers, safeguard food security, and prevent manipulative market practices.

He added that donation, when tightly regulated and limited to goods certified fit for human consumption, prevents wastage, supports vulnerable communities, and upholds the Act's broader objective of ensuring the well-being of consumers and the soundness of the agriculture and fisheries sectors.