Senators sought stricter sanctions, including the re-imposition of the death death penalty, against persons who have a hand in the multi-billion-peso smuggling operations at the country’s air and sea ports.
Their proposed iron-fist penalties followed a three-hour public hearing by the Senate agriculture and food committee chaired by Senator Cynthia A. Villar on bills that would amend certain sections of Republic Act No. 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, to include the acts of hoarding, profiteering and cartel of agricultural products as economic sabotage.
Villar said the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, was enacted for the purpose of protecting local agricultural industry and farmers from agricultural smuggling.
“However, we could barely feel the positive impact of this law,’’ she stressed.
Villar said her committee had conducted a hearing in aid of legislation on the soaring market price of onions.
’’The committee found out that cartels over import onions thereby fixing the price of local onions. The hoarders, in collusion, store these supplies in the cold storage to create a shortage so that the price would go up. A clear scenario of price manipulation,” she pointed out.
“We were also baffled to find out that with all the issues on smuggling, hoarding, profiteering and cartel of agricultural products, no one has ever been convicted since the law was passed in 2016,’’ she added.
“Nobody is afraid,” Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, observed.
A person accused of violating the shall he confined in a jail during the pendency of trial. The threshold is P1 million.
The Bureau of Customs stated that it has so far filed 142 cases of smuggling.
Before the conclusion of the committee hearing, Senator Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla announced that he has just filed a bill amending Sec 4 of RA 10845, known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, thereby imposing death penalty when the offense is committed by a personnel of the BOC (Bureau of Customs), AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), PNP (Philippine National {Police) or any other uniformed or law enforcement agency.
‘’Bakit ko po ginawa ito? (Why did I do this?) Dahil sa atin pong maiksing pagdinig ngayon sabi nga ng katabi ko hindi parang may mafia kundi may mafia na sa loob (Because during our hearing, the one seated to me does not only appear to be connected to the Mafia but the Mafia, itself),’’ he said.
‘Unless the problem is addressed, the country cannot solve the rebellion problem,’’ he warned.
"We have to send a strong message that the large-scale agricultural smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel of agricultural products perpetrated by the officers and employees of the Bureau of Customs, are heinous and a threat to the very foundation of our society. Hence, there is a compelling reason to impose death penalty," he said in his bill.
"Large-scale smuggling and other pernicious activities are threatening the lives of the people by pushing them further to the brink of poverty and putting our country in grave food insecurity. All these while our customs administration remains riddled by persistent corruption and perversity," he added.
Padilla said it is painful to think of Filipinos continually being affected by a scourge especially if law enforcers are involved.
"Magsasaka ang mga nahihirapan dito, kabuhayan ng mahihirap na tao. Agricultural country tayo, sinasabing agricultural country tayo pero nag-i-import tayo, di ba nakakahiya yan? Law enforcement kayo. Pinamumugaran tayo ng smuggling. Sa tingin nyo ba masaya ako na life imprisonment lang kayo (Farmers are the ones suffering, the livelihood of poor Filipinos is affected because of agricultural smuggling. We are an agricultural country but we are importing agricultural products. Are we not ashamed? And do you think I am satisfied with life imprisonment for those involved)?" he told BOC personnel who attended the hearing.
Padilla earlier filed Senate Bill 2042 seeking the death penalty for security personnel involved in murder.
SINAG Chairman Rosendo So told the Villar committee that losses to rice smuggling were estimated at P10 billion, pork and chicken at P6.7 billion and onion at P3.4 billion.
The Supreme Court also also threw its supports behind the Villar bill that seeks amendment to RS 10845.
Judge Danilo Cruz, head of the Philippine Judges Association, told Villar that ‘’we will do our job’’ as he dismissed claims that there are cases of fixing in the courts.
Cruz stressed that the Association supports the proposed amendments.
Villar said she was suspending her committee hearing as it would go to the Technical Working Group (TWG) to fine-tine the measure.
A committee report embedded in a bill will be deliberated on the Senate session hall.
‘’With all the issues on smuggling, hoarding, profiteering and cartel of agricultural products, it is baffling that no one is prosecuted,’’ Villar said.
‘’It is high time to amend the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling law. The issue is not only about smuggling but also hoarding, profiteering and cartel. Thus, hoarding, profiteering and cartel shall also be considered as economic sabotage under this amendatory law,’’ she added.
Ejercito lamented that despite the enactment of the law seven years ago, no one has been convicted despite the filing of cases against smugglers.
He said there might be loopholes in the law, which he principally authored.
“What amendments are needed to plug the loopholes and strengthen the law? And this is the primary purpose of this hearing,” Ejercito said.
Vincent Philip Maronilla, Assistant Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), agreed with one of the suggestions to standardize the valuation of imported products, which is currently discretionary on the part of customs examiners, to qualify into agricultural smuggling.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros wanted to penalize government officials who facilitate, conspire or act as an accomplice in any form of agricultural smuggling.
Hontiveros cited the absence of a provision that would penalize government officials involved in agricultural smuggling under Republic Act 10845.
“Given the gravity of agricultural smuggling and its far-reaching consequences, it seems to me that we also need to punish government officials who allow these acts,” she said.
“Agricultural smuggling is costing the government billions of pesos a year in lost revenues. 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 stated in her bill (Senate Bill 2205).
The Hontiveros bill seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10845 in order to hold liable government officials that act as co-conspirators and accomplices of agricultural smugglers.
“It is time to hold to account government officials who allow smuggling to persist unfettered,” she added.