The Bureau of Customs (BOC) shouldn’t stop at conducting raids, but rather pursue the filing of charges against rice smugglers and hoarders.

“Ang dami nang raids na ginawa nitong mga nakaraang linggo, bakit hanggang ngayon, wala pang kasong isinasampa sa mga taong sangkot (We have conducted so many raids in the past weeks, but until now, why are there no charges still being filed against those people involved?” Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero pointed out in a recent interview.

“Hindi tayo dapat nagtatapos sa mga raids lamang. Naghihintay at nagmamatyag ang taumbayan sa susunod na hakbangin ng pamahalaan (We shouldn’t stop at doing raids. The people are waiting to see what the government will do next),” he pointed out.

“Sampahan na agad ng kaso ang mga dapat sampahan (Charges should be filed against them immediately). We should bring them to the court of justice to prove that this administration is resolute in its campaign against rice cartel,” Escudero said.

The senator also said the BOC should publicly disclose the names of traders and operators whose warehouses were raided by the government for tons of suspected smuggled rice.

He noted that Republic Act 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 considers large-scale smuggling of agricultural products as economic sabotage and involves “at least P1 million worth of sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in their raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation and preservation for the market, or a minimum of P10 million worth of rice, as valued by Bureau of Customs (BoC).”

“Bakit hanggang ngayon, walang kaso (Until now, there are no cases filed)? Why haven’t I heard anyone sued for economic sabotage or something? Who owns these warehouses? Who are the people involved?” Escudero asked.

Last September 15, the BOC-Port of Zamboanga seized some 42,180 sacks of rice worth P42-million in Barangay San Jose Gusu after authorities discovered that the goods were not covered by the requisite sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

Prior to this, the BOC inspected three warehouses two weeks ago in Bulacan and found these stocked with suspected smuggled imported rice worth ₱505-million.

The agency temporarily sealed and guarded these warehouses located inside the Intercity Industrial Complex in Balagtas, Bulacan.

The lawmaker, likewise, urged the government to also update the public on the development of these cases in the spirit of transparency.

“Ito ang mga dapat nilang masagot ngayon (These are the questions they need to respond to): who oversees the disposition and how will it be disposed? Ano ang gagawin nila sa mga bigas na nakumpiska (What are they doing on the rice they seized)?” he asked.