The government should intensify its campaign against smuggling, particularly of agricultural products such as onions, garlic, carrots, and rice especially this Christmas season, Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid said. 

Lapid, who was in La Trinidad, Benguet, last Friday, learned that rampant smuggling of agricultural products, hoarding and profiteering have affected farmers and those transporting farm produce greatly once again.

“Kailangan na nating tapusin ang problemang ito. Ang mga ito ang nagpapahirap sa ating mga magsasaka na siyang nagpapakain sa atin (We need to put an end to this problem. These are the ones who make it difficult for our farmers who feed us),” Lapid said following his consultation with farmers at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post.

“Nakakalungkot po na sa kabila ng malaking ambag ng ating mga magsasaka para sa seguridad sa pagkain ng ating bayan ay sila pa ang nananatiling nakabaon sa kahirapan (It is sad that despite the great contribution of our farmers for the country’s food security, they are still the ones who remain to be living below the poverty line),” the senator said.

The farmers here, Lapid noted have found it difficult to cope with the effects of smuggling. He also expressed fears that many more would be discouraged to continue local production due to lack of profit.

On top of this, Lapid said the existence of middlemen buying agricultural products from farmers at very low prices also add to their discouragement. 

"Mahalaga ang kabuhayan ng ating mga magsasaka dahil ang trabaho nila ay pakainin ang sambayanang Pilipino (The livelihood of our farmers is very important because they are responsible for feeding the whole Filipino community),” he pointed out. 

As one of the authors of Senate Bill No. 2432 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, Lapid assured farmers of his full support for the passage of the measure. 

The bill is already in the period of individual amendment. It’s Committee Report No. 118 of the measure has been sponsored by Sen. Cynthia Villar last Sept. 11, 2023. Villar is chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform. 

Benguet produces about 80 percent of the temperate vegetable production of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). The Department of Agriculture (DA)-Cordillera said an average of two million kilograms of assorted highland vegetables is traded daily, reaching Metro Manila markets and even as far as Visayas and Mindanao.