ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Solon cites need to boost agarwood industry as BOC seizes P750K smuggled batch

Solon cites need to boost agarwood industry as BOC seizes P750K smuggled batch

Published Feb 19, 2025 08:19 pm

At A Glance

  • AGRI Party-list Rep. Manoy Wilbert Lee hailed the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for intercepting P750,000 worth of smuggled agarwood, which led him to renew his personal call for a sustainable agarwood industry that would increase the income of farmers. 

Wilbert Lee.jpgAGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee (Rep. Lee's Facebook page)



AGRI Party-list Rep. Manoy Wilbert Lee hailed the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for intercepting P750,000 worth of smuggled agarwood, which led him to renew his personal call for a sustainable agarwood industry that would increase the income of farmers.

"We laud the BOC for its continued vigilance. While the government must continue cracking down on illegal agarwood trade, a long-term solution lies in fostering a regulated and thriving industry,” Lee said.

“The rampant smuggling of agarwood shows that there is a huge demand for this product. Instead of allowing this illicit trade to flourish, we should focus on developing a legal, sustainable, and well-regulated agarwood industry that benefits our farmers and the economy,” noted the Bicolano.

The BOC recently seized the high-value forest product, which is considered endangered under Philippine law and international conservation agreements.

Derived from Aquilaria trees, agarwood is highly sought after for its use in perfumes, incense and traditional medicine.

AGRI Party-list, which is running for reelection in the mid-term elections this May, is the principal author of House Bill (HB) No. 10320 or the “Agarwood Industry Development Act”. This aims to promote the farming, harvesting, and commercialization of agarwood while ensuring the protection of wild Aquilaria trees.

“Our proposed measure aims to ensure that only legally cultivated trees are traded. It also offers livelihood opportunities for farmers and indigenous communities, who can legally grow agarwood on their lands while contributing to conservation efforts,” AGRI stated.

“If maximized, agarwood industry could generate opportunities up to 30,000 jobs directly and indirectly, including roles in cultivation, harvesting, processing, marketing, and sales,” it added.

Under HB No.10320, Agarwood Industry Authority (AIA) and Agarwood Research Office (ARO) shall be established to oversee the industry’s growth and guide our farmers to maximize its benefits.

AGRI urged swift action on HB No.10320, stressing that the government must optimize the industry by allowing more Filipinos to venture into it while ensuring protection of natural resources to avoid exploitation.

“We need to strike a balance between conservation and economic opportunities," it stressed.

Related Tags

wilbert lee Bureau of Customs Agarwood
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.