Senator Francis Pangilinan on Monday teamed up with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to intensify the government’s campaign against agricultural smuggling, inspecting two 40-foot containers of misdeclared frozen chicken breasts and fish balls worth P12.96 million at the Manila International Container Port.
Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, said the partnership with the BOC underscores the government’s resolve to dismantle syndicates that manipulate agricultural imports and evade taxes. He has cited several brokers and a deputy collector in contempt for refusing to cooperate with the Senate probe.
The senator plans to coordinate with the Ombudsman, DOJ, and NBI to pursue criminal cases under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law, stressing accountability must reach powerful operators and complicit officials. Pangilinan also warned that the seized chicken may pose health risks, saying some smuggled products from China could be spoiled or repackaged.
He vowed to back the BOC’s modernization programs to strengthen port surveillance, improve transparency, and ensure proper collection of duties and taxes.
