Senators, SINAG Hit BoC's Inaction vs Smugglers

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Some senators and the Samahan ng Industriya at Agrikultura (SINAG) bewailed the procrastination of the officials of the Bureau of Customs to file the no - bail Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 versus the smugglers whose thousands of bags of rice were seized by the government.

“Ang smuggling tuloy pa rin ang pasok dapat malaman natin sa Port of Cebu saka iyong sa Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga kung nag file sila ng case kasi kung hindi sila nag file ng case, iyong Zamboanga kasi ay malaki about 60,000 bags I think ni press con pa nila dapat ni file na,” declared by Rosendo So, Chair of SINAG, during the February 27 hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Senator Cynthia Villar.

SUMMIT - Samahan ng Industriya at Agrikultura (SINAG) Chairman Rosendo So (extreme left) and Senators Cynthia Villar and Grace Poe lead the ribbon cutting for the opening of the International Farmers Summit 2018 held recently at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

Chairman So said that until now P120 million bags of rice impounded in January 7 this year in Zamboanga Sibugay have remained not inventoried.

“120 million (pesos) ito. Matagal na ito, 60,000 bags. Ngayon 40,000 bags nawala na iyong 20,000 bags,” he deplored.

Senator Villar admonished Zamboanga BoC District Collector Jesus Balmores when he said that the 60 bags of rice seized in the Philippine-registered cargo ship M/V J-Phia was an estimate by the Philippines Coast Guard while the Customs is presently conducting an investigation.

“Ini-imbertaryo pa nila hanggang ngayon after two months. Siguro bago matapos ang imbentaryo ninyo ubos na iyong bigas. Ano ba iyan?! Akala naman ninyo sa mga senators kaka iñgot!” the lady senator hissed.

Senators Francis Pangilinan, Jayvee Ejercito, and Nancy Binay posed the same questions why until now the BoC did not investigate and file the heavy Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act against the violators.

When Balmores said that his office was still waiting for funds to start the inventory, he was reproved again by Villar.

“Hindi pa ninyo pa na inventory two months na, bumaba na sa 40 thousand bags bago ninyo maimbenteryo baka below na sa  ten million pesos iyan na hindi na iyan large scale agricultural smuggling”.

The Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act penalizes with a life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges avoided shall be imposed the smuggling of rice with a minimum amount of ten million pesos (P10,000,000.00) to the offender, as valued by BOC.

Villar did not want the illegal goods sell at an auction because the smugglers themselves will win the bid.

“Hindi na e auction kasi kung bibili sa auction iyon din iyong smuggler, ano ba iyan? Halatang halata na iyan!”

Mr. So said the exact numbers of rice confiscated can be found out at the ship’s draft.

“May record ang Customs niyan kung ilang metric tons”.

Binay suggested that those smuggled goods can be donated to the poor in the war torn Marawi City and the Department of Social Welfare & Development while Villar appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to issue an executive order to donate the rice to the National Food Authority.

Deputy Customs Commissioner Edward James Dy Buco said the Bureau of Customs had seized 10 containers of the smuggled staple in Subic, 40,000 bags in Zamboanga, and 32 containers of rice in Cebu.

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