ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co 

The arrest of alleged large-scale onion smuggler Jayson de Roxas Taculog shows President Marcos' determination to end the problem of agricultural smuggling once and for all. 

Thus, said House Committee on Appropriations Chairman ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co in a statement Monday, Nov. 21. 

"The apprehension of Mr. Taculog, following the confiscation of P78.9 million worth of illegally imported agricultural goods, is tangible proof of President Marcos' commitment to ending this detrimental practice," Co said. 

"This is not mere lip service. The President's pronouncement in his State of the Nation Address (SONA)--that the days of agricultural smugglers are numbered is now being actualized," he reckoned. 

Taculog was taken into custody following the issuance of an arrest warrant by Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 26 Judge Edilu Hayag. 

The arrest was preceded by the confiscation of a substantial quantity of illegally imported agricultural goods consigned to Taculog J International Consumer Goods Trading. 

"Smuggling affects more than just the taxes. Pinapahina ng smuggling ang ating agriculture sector sa pamamagitan ng pagbebenta sa mas mababang halaga dahilan para malugi ang mga local na magsasaka," explained Co, a second-termer in the House. 

(Smuggling weakens our agriculture sector by undercutting the sales of local farmers, causing them to lose money.) 

Meanwhile, Co highlighted the progress of House Bill (HB) No. 9284, also known as the Large-scale Agri-Fishery Commodities or Tobacco Hoarding, Profiteering, Cartelizing, and other Acts of Market Abuse as Economic Sabotage Act. 

"Having passed the third and final reading, the bill seeks to classify agricultural product smuggling as 'economic sabotage', a crime punishable by life imprisonment," he said. 

The proposed law reinforces the administration's stance, stipulating life imprisonment and fines six times the fair market value of the involved agricultural and fishery products for individuals found guilty of smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, or forming cartels.