By Brian Campued
The Department of Agriculture (D.A.), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) intercepted six shipping containers carrying smuggled onions and mackerels worth over P34.2 million at the Port of Manila.
According to the D.A., the shipments from China arrived in the country on May 27 and June 1 and were declared as assorted food products such as egg noodles, dumplings, and spring rolls.
Upon issuance of alert orders and conduct of a physical inspection on June 10, three container vans were found to contain red onions, one container held yellow onions, and two others contained frozen mackerel.
During the inspection of the smuggled commodities on Tuesday, Department of Health (DOH) Sec. Teodoro Herbosa said that Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. coordinated with him regarding the inspection of the seized items as only the FDA, an attached agency of the DOH, can order the opening of shipments declared as food items.
“Dineclare na food item, ‘yon ang ginamit na kurtina, tapos nasa likod po ang agricultural product. Ang problem, dahil ‘yan po ay naka-declare na food product, ang nakakapagpabukas sa Customs po ay FDA,” Herbosa explained.
Herbosa also cautioned against buying or eating improperly labeled food items as it may pose health risks to consumers.
“Kasi bawal ka magpasok ng hindi english ang label, kasi para nababasa ninyo kapag kayo [ay] namili ng produkto ay maintindihan ninyo kung ‘yong kinakain niyo, ano ‘yong ingredients niya,” he stressed.
According to Laurel, the consignees of the seized container vans—Latinx Consumer Goods Trading and Lexxa Consumer Goods Trading—are included in the 18 companies blacklisted by the D.A. since January this year.
He warned that violators of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. last year, may face a fine amounting to five times the value of the smuggled or hoarded agricultural products and life imprisonment.
Under the law, smuggling or hoarding of agricultural commodities is classified as economic sabotage if the value of the goods exceeds P10 million.
“I would like to inform everybody, lalo na sa mga customs brokers na nagre-release ng mga ito, hahabulin [at] isasama namin sila sa kaso ngayon, hindi lang ‘yong consignee. Base sa bagong batas, pati taxi driver puwedeng isama dyan, sinong bumili, sinong nagbenta, so hahabulin namin lahat ‘yon,” Laurel added.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro underscored that the latest seizure of contrabands is in line with the directive of Marcos to intensify anti-smuggling efforts in the country.
“Alinsunod ito sa direktiba ng Pangulo na paigtingin pa ang kampanya kontra smugglers at mga illegal na produktong sumisira sa ekonomiya at kalusugan ng bansa,” Castro said in a press briefing at Malacañang Tuesday.
This as the President issued marching orders to newly appointed BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno to strengthen border protection and combat smuggling operations in the country. (with report from Vel Custodio / PTV News)
-jpv
