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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Pangilinan assures Benguet farmers on continuing fight vs agri smuggling

Pangilinan assures Benguet farmers on continuing fight vs agri smuggling

Published Feb 18, 2022 02:35 pm

Aspiring vice president Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan vowed to farmers in Benguet on Friday, Feb. 18, that he will continue the fight against smuggling of agricultural products into the country.

Aspiring vice president Senator Francis 'Kiko' Pangilinan meets with farmers in Benguet to discuss their concerns, particularly on smuggling of agricultural goods that affect their livelihood.(Photo courtesy of Team Kiko Pangilinan)

In a dialogue with vegetable vendors, packers, traders in La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post, Pangilinan said he will continue to reach out to concerned agencies to end the smuggling of agricultural goods in the country in a bid to open up more opportunities to local producers.

"I-fo-follow up natin yung unang hearing na naganap nung January. Magkakaroon dapat sana ng pangalawang hearing. At ito’y idudulog natin sa ating Senate President para mag-schedule ng pangalawang hearing (We will follow up on the hearing in January. A second hearing must take place. We will bring this up to the Senate President to schedule a second hearing)," he said.

Pangilinan was the first to lodge a resolution in the Senate in July last year to conduct an investigation in the smuggling of carrots and other vegetable imports from China.

The vice presidential aspirant said he will also request Agriculture Secretary William Dar to engage in a dialogue with farmer leaders to further the talks about problems caused by smuggling in their livelihood and the entire agriculture sector.

As a senator, he also committed to coordinate with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in going after those who are involved in agricultural smuggling.

"Talagang hindi tama ito. Inuuna yung interes ng mga dayuhan...Chinese vegetables 'yan. Di rin natin alam kung ligtas, kung merong kemikal 'yan...Maaaring nakakabigay ng cancer o ano pang sakit sa ating mga kababayan kaya talagang 'di dapat nating hayaan ang ganitong sistema (This is not right. Foreign interest is being prioritized...those are Chinese vegetables. We also don't know if those are safe, if it has chemicals that may cause cancer or other disease to our countrymen. We should not let this system happen)," Pangilinan said.

"At makakaasa kayo na tayo ay tuloy-tuloy na gagawa ng koordinasyon sa inyong mga lider...para sama-sama nating hanapan ng solusyon itong smuggling at nawa’y maging matagumpay tayo (And you can expect that we will continue coordinating with your leaders to find a solution to smuggling together and I hope we succeed)," Pangilinan added.

Related Tags

benguet 21822 AGRI SMUGGLING SENATOR FRANCIS KIKO PANGILINAN farmers
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