Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday, January 31, said smugglers and other criminals guilty of large-scale agricultural sabotage, after years of evasion and bribery, should be clapped in jail for life.
Marcos emphasized this after saying she is distraught about hearing smuggling allegations "knowing only too well the hardship our farmers endure."
"For them, we must push these investigations, without fear or favor, until the truth, the whole truth, is out," she pointed out.
"No more postponements!" Marcos said after the agriculture committee of the House of Representatives suddenly decided not to postpone an inquiry on the controversial agriculture smuggling in the country today.
Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Cooperatives, said she is taking issue on allegations of smuggling because she personally knows the hardship of Filipino farmers.
She said congressional inquiries into agricultural smuggling must be conducted without fear or favor so that the whole truth would be known "in the interest of justice."
"Kahit sinuman ang tamaan, dapat walang sasantuhin ang gobyerno (Government shall not spare anyone)," Marcos stressed.
In so far as the Senate is concerned, Marcos said that the Upper House would continue its hearing until the smugglers and their cohorts in government are clapped in jail.
She rued that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has not touched the big time smugglers although they were identified in the Senate inquiry.
Marcos said that on January 23, Sultan Kudarat 2nd district Rep. Horacio Suansing Jr. invited to the House hearing the 10 alleged bigtime agricultural smugglers such as Leah “Luz” Cruz, Manuel Tan, Jun Diamante, Andrew Chang, Michael Ma, Lujene Ang, Beverly Peres, Lucio Lim, Gerry Teves at alyas "Aaron."
In the next Senate hearing, Marcos said she would ask the Senate to invite BOC Commissioner Yogi Ruiz because he has snubbed the Senate committee hearing several times.