A PARTY-list legislator has lauded a move by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to step up its campaign against agricultural smuggling by blacklisting importers of fish and other food products involved in this illicit trade.
Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan of Bicol Saro party-list group, chairman of the House Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources, said fish smuggling undermines the livelihood of small fisherfolk and imperils the safety of consumers.
While Yamsuan has commended the DA on its plan to blacklist suspected smugglers, he said this step should be followed by the filing of criminal cases against these unscrupulous traders.
“We will await the action of the Department of Agriculture on this matter. We are counting on Agriculture Secretary (Francisco Tiu) Laurel (Jr.) to make his move soon against these suspected smugglers,” Yamsuan said.
Yamsuan issued the statement in response to Laurel’s recent announcement of his plan to blacklist at least four importers suspected of acts classified as economic sabotage. Laurel said the suspects consisted of one rice importer, two fish traders and a sugar importer.
“Blacklisting erring agricultural importers should not be the DA’s only measure against them. If there is enough evidence, then criminal cases should be hurled against them in court,” said Yamsuan, who is also a former assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The lawmaker said blacklisted companies may just resort to using dummy firms to continue their illegal activities.
Yamsuan pointed out that under the current law, large-scale fish smuggling is classified as economic sabotage if the amount of the goods subject of the crime is at least P1 million as valued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The punishment for this crime under Republic Act 10845 is life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled fish products, along with the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges involved.
Yamsuan said a new measure—the proposed Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act—aims to strengthen RA 10845 by including hoarding, profiteering and cartel as acts of economic sabotage when the value of each agricultural and fishery product involved in these illegal activities amounts to at least P1 million.
Certified by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as an urgent measure, this proposed law also increases the fine for acts of economic sabotage to thrice the value of the goods that are subject of the crime.
The measure has already been approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and is awaiting the President’s signature.
“We hope that this will be signed by the President and enacted soon so that it could serve as a strong deterrent to agricultural smugglers,” Yamsuan said.
“Agricultural smugglers undermine our collective goal to attain food security and jeopardize the livelihood of our farmers and fisherfolk. They also place the safety of consumers at risk because smuggled food products do not undergo the necessary measures that are meant to ensure that these are fit and safe for human consumption,” he added.