The government has seized over PHP1 billion worth of smuggled agricultural products this year, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Tuesday.
“In fact, the aggregated amount of agricultural products that we seized this year has reached more than PHP1 billion, while the total value of all the smuggled products seized by our Intelligence Group is very high, more than PHP80 billion,” Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing,
Over the weekend, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the distribution of thousands of kilograms of mackerel from a seized smuggled shipment from China worth PHP178.5 million at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT).
At the same time, the BOC official is looking at a better year ahead with the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 12022 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
He said aside from the Bureau, other agencies such as the Department of Agriculture (DA) would also benefit from the revised law, which imposes stiffer penalties on the manipulation of prices of commodities through hoarding and profiteering.
Maronilla explained that price manipulation schemes that raise commodity prices are detrimental to the public.
Under the new law, the bureau and the DA would also hold joint activities such as inspection of warehouses to ensure that proper duties and taxes have been paid.
The BOC spokesperson noted that they have tightened the security at the ports to prevent these illegal activities.
“We are tightening our security at our Ports, using a risk based system together with the DA so that legitimate importers of these products are not affected,” he said. (PNA)