Thousands of tobacco farmers are urging lawmakers to pass the economic sabotage bill before President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address (SONA) to protect their livelihoods from rampant agricultural smuggling.

In a statement on Thursday, May 2, more than 50,000 members of the Philippine Tobacco Growers Association (PTGA) and the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers Association and Cooperatives (NAFTAC) have called on Congress to approve the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.

“[We] urged Congress to already convene a Bicameral Conference Committee to discuss and approve the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act before President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July,” PTGA stated.

PTGA President Saturnino Distor explained that tobacco farming is reeling from the ongoing smuggling as many farmers and beneficiaries are affected.

“Tobacco farming is vital to food security since its members are also farm rice, corn, and other primary crops,” Distor emphasized.

Rice and other agricultural smuggling is considered as economic sabotage under the act which can result to lifetime imprisonment and/or criminal fines which are higher than the value of any smuggled products.

“We hope that Congress can finally have a Bicameral Conference Committee so it can be signed by President Marcos before his SONA. This is his administration’s priority which could help our farmers,” he stressed.

NAFTAC Chairman Bernard Vicente believed that moving forward with the bill would fulfill the current administration’s promise of affordable agricultural products and food self-sufficiency.

“We believe the bill will help prevent the smuggling of agricultural products and will deter these criminals. This would end smugglers, hoarders, and illegal cartels,” he added.

Last September 2023, the House of Representatives Unanimously passed the “Anti Agri-Fishery Commodities and Tobacco Economic Sabotage Act” or House Bill No. 9284.

Subsequently, the Senate also passed the “Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act” or Senate Bill 2432 last December.

Aside from the economic sabotage bill, the PTGA and NAFTAC also noted other priority bills like the Self-Reliant Defense Posture Act, Value Added Tax on Digital Services, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and the Blue Economy Act. These would pose direct benefits to farmers and their families.

According to the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), there are about 2.2 million Filipinos who are financially dependent on tobacco. Within the two million, 430,000 are farmers, farm workers, and family members.

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), a Non-Government Organization (NGO) said that the government suffers from P200 billion in revenue losses because of the prominent smuggling in agriculture.

“For tobacco alone, smuggled cigarettes deprive the government of at least P30 billion annually in excise taxes,” they added.