Senator Risa Hontiveros has filed a bill seeking to prosecute government officials and employees who conspire with agricultural smugglers be prosecuted and penalized.
In filing Senate Bill No. 2205, Hontiveros wants certain provision of Republic Act No. 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, to criminalize state workers who would be found conniving with large-scale agricultural smugglers.
Hontiveros noted that since the law’s passage in 2016, no individual, group or corporations have been prosecuted even though there have been many reports of smuggled products that were seized.
“There has been no prosecution of government officials for facilitating and abetting acts of agricultural smuggling that amount to large-scale economic sabotage. As a result, smuggling activities continue with impunity,” the senator lamented.
Under the bill, any act by a public employee or officer that allows the importation into the country without the needed import permit shall be declared as economic sabotage.
The lawmaker cited the sugar fiasco as an example, noting how documented accounts show that tens of thousands of metric tons of sugar were allowed into the country without a sugar order.
“Agricultural smuggling is costing the government billions of pesos a year in lost revenues. The smuggling of regulated agricultural commodities has also led to high prices for consumers, the violation of our competition laws, and most importantly, the further decline of our domestic agricultural sector,” Hontiveros said in the explanatory note of the bill.
“It is time to hold to account government officials who allow smuggling to persist unfettered,” she stressed.
Under the bill, the approval or issuance by a public employee or officer of any license, declaration, clearance, or permit, knowing that it is manifestly unlawful, inequitable, or irregular, will be considered economic sabotage.
Any person who also violates the proposed law will be made to face life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product, including the taxes, duties, and other charges avoided plus interest at the legal rate.
The bill also prescribes a 20 year prescription period or the time within which charges can be filed.