In what could be the biggest single seizure since the passage of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) Port of Subic seized more than P100 million worth of misdeclared agricultural products from China during an inspection here on Tuesday.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Tuesday led a high-stakes inspection of 10 container vans suspected of carrying smuggled food products, marking a major crackdown on illegal imports threatening local farmers and food safety.
The operation, carried out jointly by the Department of Agriculture (DA), BoC and other regulatory agencies, found the container vans lacking the required import permits. These were found to be loaded with frozen mackerel, fresh yellow onions and carrots — agricultural commodities subject to strict government regulation.
“We have here frozen mackerels, fresh onions and carrots — all imported illegally, without the necessary regulatory clearances,” Secretary Tiu Laurel said.
“These products will be subjected to testing to determine their safety for human consumption. If found unfit, they will be destroyed immediately. Our priority is the protection of public health and the livelihood of our farmers and fisherfolk.”
According to the BoC, the inspected vans are part of a broader haul of 52 containers initially flagged — though only 31 are currently under continued scrutiny after 21 were cleared following full inspection and validation by the DA. The initial report of 59 flagged containers was corrected, noting seven were subject to duplicate alerts.
The estimated value of the 10 newly inspected containers is pegged at P100 million, with the overall haul possibly reaching several hundred million pesos once the remaining containers are fully assessed.
Five of the inspected containers were consigned to 1024 Consumer Goods Trading, all found carrying frozen mackerel. The remaining five — two with fresh onions and three with carrots — were consigned to Berches Consumers Goods Trading. Each 40-footer container can typically carry up to 25 tons of cargo.
Tiu Laurel said the seized items may have also violated the Food Safety Act of 2013 and the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, in addition to the newly implemented economic sabotage law which imposes harsh penalties on large-scale agricultural smuggling.
Separately, three more container vans consigned to Queenstar Industry Consumer Trading were intercepted after DA-IE alerts showed they contained frozen mackerel and carrots without the necessary permits.
The inspection at the Port of Subic was led by BoC collector Noel Estanislao and conducted under the One DA Border Control Team. Representatives from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources joined the operation.
Since June, the DA has filed 15 alert requests that led to the seizure of 76 container vans, with 59 of them intercepted at Subic alone — a sign, authorities say, of growing sophistication and scale in agri-smuggling operations.