By Stephanie Sevillano
MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday said it has confiscated about PHP24 million worth of frozen mackerel from China.
The DA-Inspectorate and Enforcement (IE), in partnership with the Philippine National Police-Crime Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), conducted the seizure of eight containers in a cold storage facility in Caloocan in late September.
In a press conference, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said these frozen mackerel have legally entered the country but were diverted.
“Basically, it was imported for canning supposedly, ilalata processing– hindi bawal (it will be canned, processing, it’s not prohibited),” he said.
“Pero dinivert, nahuli namin sa isang cold storage sa (But it was diverted; we seized it in a cold storage in) Caloocan.”
Tiu Laurel stressed that such illicit activity may affect pricing and harm the livelihood of local fishers, with other cold storage facilities and the Navotas fish port as its intended market.
In total, about 240 metric tons (MT) have been confiscated, or about 30 MT for each of the eight containers.
“May naarestong isang male na (There’s one arrested– a male) Chinese, foreigner, undocumented,” Tiu Laurel said.
The DA chief said the value of the confiscated products meets the threshold for the violation of Republic Act 12022 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
The DA, meanwhile, said 57 more containers are now under close watch in the country’s ports, which are suspected to contain smuggled goods.
They were declared as processed goods, which fall outside the DA’s jurisdiction.
Tiu Laurel said they are now coordinating with the Bureau of Customs and the Food and Drug Administration.
