The sheer volume of smuggled and misdeclared fruits flooding the country’s wet markets has reached alarming proportions, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has stated.

Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Made, expressed dismay over the unabated illegal importation even as senators have also aired grave concern over the rising smuggling of agricultural products and materials.

Before Congress went on Christmas break last week, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III presided over an inquiry into smuggling by convening the Committee of the Whole.

Salceda said the ways and means panel will resume its inquiry into the alarming rate of plant product smuggling.

The agricultural sector has assailed the alleged ineptness of the Bureau of Customs in stopping rampant smuggling of agriculture products while others aired the belief of connivance with smugglers.

Salceda particularly expressed alarm over a complaint by Benguet Farmers Marketing Cooperative which urged the Bureau of Plant and Industry to explain why strawberries from South Korea are flooding the wet markets of Cebu.

“In our earlier hearings on the matter, we called on the Bureau of Plant Industry to ensure that the inspection of plant imports is up to standard. They did point out that they are unable to inspect each shipment, which makes these shipments vulnerable to misdeclaration,” the administration lawmaker said.

Salceda referred to hearings by the House tax panel in February 2021, which scored the BPI for the lack of stringent mechanisms to prevent the smuggling of plant products such as fruits and vegetables.

“We requested them to craft guidelines on their work with Customs, and how we can ensure that imports are processed on time, but without misdeclaration or technical smuggling,” he added.

The Albay solon vowed to follow up the House panels request from the BOC, adding that a deadline will be set for the submission of the required guidelines set.

“If it’s not intentional, it seems to me that the technical processes for evaluation are still lacking. For example, strawberries from Korea aren’t included in the goods allowed inside the country under the Korea-Philippine Trade Agreement under the General Agreement on Tariff Agreement-World Trade Organization (GATT-WTO). So, something’s up,” Salceda said.

In Senate hearings, the BPI claimed that the strawberry imports were for use “by the Korean community” in the country.

“That’s not a satisfactory answer. So, I want to see how the import permitting process can be streamlined so that the rules are clear.” Salceda also emphasized that “a highly arbitrary import permits process places the country’s own domestic agriculture at risk, especially from biosafety hazards.” “Once January session comes, we’ll give a deadline for the BPI,” Salceda concluded.