A Bureau of Customs (BOC) official purported to be connected to smuggling operations at the Port of Subic has been cited in contempt during the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform’s public hearing on Wednesday, December 3. 

Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, chairman of the said panel, cited in contempt BOC-Port of Subic Acting Chief of Assessment Juan San Andres after the panel heard inconsistencies in his statements when he was asked about the release of three containers with smuggled agricultural products from the Port of Subic.

“On the basis of the motion as well as the explanation of Mr. San Andres, together with clarification from Usec. Carlos Carag, we second the motion: you are cited in contempt by this committee,” Pangilinan said.

It was Sen. Erwin Tulfo who made the motion to cite San Andres in contempt for allegedly lying to the committee after Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Carlos Carag confirmed the attempt to bring three containers of shipment consigned to Berches Consumer Goods Trading to a non-existent warehouse in Angat, Bulacan.

According to San Andres, the operation to bring the containers out of the Port of Subic for a 100% physical examination in the supposed Berches’ warehouse was done in coordination with the DA’s Inspectorate and Enforcement (DAIE) unit. 

But Carag belied his claim and said that the DAIE went after several BOC personnel after finding out that the containers were released from the port. 

Though the containers were eventually returned to the Port of Subic, Pangilinan questioned San Andres’ recollection of the events, particularly for the issuance of the mission order after he gave instructions to one of the BOC staff to join the under-guarding.

San Andres, however, failed to justify why the containers were released in the first place despite having possible smuggled agricultural products.  

Pangilinan lamented that agricultural smuggling in the Philippines operates much like the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), noting that it is cornered by several Chinese nationals and exporters, in connivance with certain Filipinos involved in food smuggling.

“Food security is a national security concern and therefore agricultural smuggling is a threat to our national security. Yet despite this threat, the government’s response has been extremely weak,” Pangilinan said in Filipino.

He noted that only four (4) out of 132 cases from 2021 to 2025 resulted in the filing of smuggling complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ). He also noted that 90 percent of the cases failed to progress due to insufficient documents from the BOC.

The documents submitted were merely photocopies and the originals were never turned over, leading to lack of evidence and eventual dismissal of cases. As a result, Pangilinan said no one has been held accountable or jailed.

“Local agriculture will not progress, food will remain expensive, and our people will continue to go hungry, unable to afford adequate and nutritious food if this destructive system persists,” the lawmaker warned.