TOL VIEWS

The sad plight of Filipino farmers will continue for as long as agricultural smuggling remains inadequately addressed.  Just recently, a joint anti-smuggling operation by the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Customs, and the Philippine Coast Guard seized 364,000 kilograms of frozen agri-fishery products in 13 cold storage facilities in Navotas City. This recent operation alone was estimated to be worth ₱86.8 million. Figures will surely rise to billions if data from other seizure operations will be added up.

Addressing agricultural smuggling is an urgent call as Philippine agriculture continues to struggle with many other crippling factors – natural disasters and calamities being one of these factors.  While Republic Act 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 has indeed improved our anti-agricultural smuggling systems and procedures, I believe that in order to multiply the impact of the foregoing legislation, complementary policies will have to be formulated in order to pin down big-time smugglers and bust cartels.  The establishment of special anti-smuggling courts and the imposition of higher penalties for smuggling, most especially agricultural products, are seen to considerably improve our success in the campaign against agricultural smuggling and in our efforts to re-fire Philippine agriculture, so to speak. 

The impact of agricultural smuggling on the economy and on the life of Filipino farmers should be emphasized.  How this type of crime undermines the livelihood of farmers and how it increases the costs of food for consumers has been clearly seen and felt in the sugar and onion crises we experienced last year.  Unfortunately, we never really seem to learn from the past. Seized goods and apprehended smugglers often make it to the daily news. Sadly, however, they often don’t reach courts and prisons.  There are 158 smuggling cases filed by the Bureau of Customs and one case by the Department of Agriculture.  Out of this number, 76 cases were dismissed for lack of supporting documents and evidence. Of the remaining cases, only nine made it to the courts.  Sad indeed, but that’s the awful truth.   

To curtail and gradually end agricultural smuggling remains a long journey, but action should be taken now while our agriculture industry can still be saved.  We have long recognized the vital role that our farmers play in ensuring food security. What needs to be done, apart from building capacity through increased access to knowledge, equipment and technology, is for concerned government agencies to pull their acts together, put functional systems in place, and strengthen their will to truly protect the welfare and interests of Filipino farmers.