lucky horse Marcos wants tougher action vs agri smugglers
This photo shows the turnover of the confiscated P178.5 million worth of frozen mackerel to the Department of Agriculture (DA) at the Manila International Container Port on Saturday, December 14, 2024, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (2nd from left), DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel (2nd from right), Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla (left) and Bureau of Customs chief Bienvenido Rubio (right). (Photo from the Bureau of Customs)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to strictly implement the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act or Republic Act No. 12022.
According to Marcos, the chain enabling smugglers to continue profiting from people must be broken.
Article continues after this advertisement“I’ve spoken to our Bureau of Customs, and I’ve spoken to the Department of Agriculture and we have to keep going. We need to strengthen this further,” Marcos said in a statement.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO Lorraine Badoy after red-tagging civil suit loss: ‘Fight isn’t over’ NEWSINFO Cloud cluster monitored outside PAR may form into LPA – Pagasa NEWSINFO Solon says P10-billion DepEd’s budget cut a call for accountabilityThis came after Marcos led the turnover of the seized frozen mackerel worth P178.5 million to the Department of Agriculture.
The frozen goods arrived at the Manila International Container Port last September 28 and 29 without the necessary permits from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: BOC: Seized P178.5-million frozen mackerel to benefit 150,000 families
Article continues after this advertisementMarcos also noted that the smuggling of 21 containers of frozen mackerel marked the first instance under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
Article continues after this advertisementThe law categorizes smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel operations as acts of sabotage and are subject to non-bailable offenses punishable by life imprisonment.
“The key to this was coordination between the different agencies. That’s always the most important because the different agencies were all working together, all the way up to the end,” Marcos added.
Article continues after this advertisementMarcos then expressed optimism on the continued operations against smugglers of agricultural products.
Peza Director General Tereso Panga and PNOC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Butalid signed a memorandum of understanding last October 14 at the PNOC Networking Hall.
okebet slot“We need to control, we need to supervise our food supply,” he said.
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