President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Saturday directed the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Customs to intensify their crackdown against agricultural smugglers.
The President’s order came as he inspected P178.5 million worth of smuggled frozen mackerel at the Manila International Container Terminal in Tondo, Manila.
“This is the entire so-called chain (of agricultural smuggling) that we need to dismantle,” Mr. Marcos said.
“I hope this is the first of many operations such as this because this is very, very important. We need to control and supervise our food supply,” he added.
The seizure of the smuggled mackerel marked the first case filed under RA 12022 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
Mr. Marcos inspected the 21 containers of frozen mackerel shipment imported from China that were confiscated for lack of necessary import clearance.
The shipment arrived in late September without the required Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
“They are smuggling agricultural goods. They are destroying the market here in the Philippines, profiting from the people. Nothing goes back to the government, and what should be paid to the government is just pocketed,” Mr. Marcos said.
The President donated the 21 containers of seized frozen mackerel to support 150,000 families across Metro Manila and select areas in Regions 3 and 4-A.
The BOC has seized P5.87 billion worth of smuggled agricultural products from July 2022 to November 2024, as part of government efforts to address agricultural sabotage.
The agency filed 250 cases involving agricultural products worth P8.59 billion from 2018 to 2024.
The BOC recorded four convictions involving illicit importation of agricultural products.
The Philippines has lost P3 billion to agricultural smuggling in 2023 alone and in less than nine months this year, over P230 million worth of smuggled agricultural products were seized.
