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Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Smuggling a PNoy legacy’

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RAMPANT smuggling of rice more than doubled from P31 billion under the Arroyo administration to P83 billion under the stint of President Benigno Aquino III in the last five years to the detriment of local farmers, according to the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura.

Smuggling of pork, chicken, sugar, onion, garlic and carrots in huge volumes also remained unabated under Aquino, said Sinag chairman Rosendo So.

“From P94 billion of smuggled agricultural products under Arroyo, the illegal contraband that was dumped into the country amounted to P198 billion under Aquino during the same five-year period,” So said.

President Benigno Aquino III

“The Aquino government is killing the farmers, local producers and growers. Where is their heart and compassion?”

So said the 2.77 million metric tons of rice smuggled in from 2010 to 2014 is double the 1.06 million metric tons illegally imported from 2005-2009, the last five years of the Arroyo government.

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 Rice was the most smuggled commodity, at P94 billion, followed by pork (P40 billion) and sugar (P25 billion), Sinag said in a statement, adding that substantial amounts of chicken, garlic, onion and carrots were also shipped in illegally.

From 2005 to 2009 under Arroyo, the volume of smuggled pork was recorded at 106,092 metric tons amounting to P18.56 billion but from 2010 to 2014 under Aquino, pork smuggling increased to 202,936 metric tons for a total of P35.51 billion.

Sugar smuggling was recorded at 597,412 metric tons at P29.87 billion under Arroyo but the record slid slightly to 487,467 metric tons amounting to P24.37 billion under Aquino.

Smuggling of chicken also increased from 58,616 metric tons for a total of P7.32 billion under Arroyo to 91,151 metric tons or P11.39 billion under Aquino.

Onion smuggling decreased substantially from 143,382 metric tons or P7.17 billion under Arroyo to 38,660 metric tons or P1.93 billion under Aquino.

Smuggling of carrots increased dramatically from 1,076 metric tons worth P54 million under Arroyo to 6,114 metric tons amounting to P305 million under Aquino.

There was no record of smuggling of garlic under the Arroyo administration but some 255,393 metric tons worth P25.54 billion was recorded under the Aquino administration.

Senator Cynthia Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, challenged the government to refute the figures presented by Sinag during the hearing on Tuesday.

“Since day one of his administration, we have urged President Aquino to look into this smuggling pestilence. After five years and four Customs chiefs, there is no doubt that this administration has failed the agriculture sector in this regard,” So said in the statement.

“During the Senate hearing, the government could not answer because it was the truth. Smuggling has prospered and continues to thrive under this government,” So said.

Sinag has long proposed making the National Food Authority the lone rice importer. It has also urged that the government-to-government scheme as the only mode of importing rice be reconsidered.

“Though permits are supposedly allocated to farmer cooperatives, the reality is that these permits are being bought by unscrupulous traders, similar to the schemes already exposed in the series of Senate hearings on the modus of Davidson Bangayan and other similar consolidators of import permits,” So pointed out.

He noted that every P200 billion worth of smuggled agricultural products translates to lost government revenues of between P60-80 billion since these commodities are supposed to be protected by higher tariffs of 30-40 percent.

“Instead of protecting and helping the local agricultural industry that is the sole means of livelihood for millions of Filipino families, it seems this administration has no intention of stopping smuggling,” So said.

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