By Brian Campued
The Department of Agriculture (D.A.) – Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Tuesday inspected 25-ton smuggled red onions worth at least P2 million in an abandoned shipping container at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental.
According to the D.A., the shipment containing the smuggled red onions arrived in the country from China on May 26 and was declared to contain frozen goods, such as egg noodles, croissant dough, pizza dough, buns, and spring rolls.
“Usually kasi ang style ng mga smuggler… para makalusot sila sa D.A., they declare as processed goods, supposedly hindi namin puwedeng pakialaman. But then as we see a declaration that is unusual, we report to the BOC and pinapa-hold namin,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in an interview with the People’s Television Network.
According to Laurel, the seized onions in Misamis Oriental as well those confiscated in ports of Manila and Cagayan de Oro earlier this month may have come from a single group who uses different names to smuggle onions into the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the D.A. chief added that Malacañang has directed the agency to distribute the red onions to the public if confirmed safe for human consumption.
“Ang directive na nakuha ko mula sa Malacañang is kung puwedeng ipamigay, ipamimigay sa mga taumbayan. Kung may tama naman at not fit for human consumption ’yong mga produktong nahuli, ito ay for destruction naman,” Laurel said.
Laurel also stressed that their agency continues to crack down on unscrupulous traders, reiterating President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to intensify the campaign against agricultural smuggling.
“Para sa mga smugglers naman diyan na sumusubok pang guamwa ng kalokohan… ang utos ng Presidente [ay] hanapin kayo at maposasan kayo, kaya tuloy-tuloy ang aming operations tungkol dito,” he said. (with report from Vel Custodio / PTV News)
-jpv
