House ratifies bill punishing large-scale agri smuggling as economic sabotage

MANILA — The House of Representatives has ratified a bill making large-scale agricultural smuggling as an act of economic sabotage subject to harsher penalties in a bid to end the influx of rice, sugar, onions, pork, poultry and beef that have hurt the farm sector.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair and Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo said on Tuesday he was expecting President Aquino to sign the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act.

“This law sends a message that government cannot tolerate the illegal entry of agriculture products, which cause heavy damage to the agriculture sector. Around 65 percent of the population depends on agriculture and this law is for them,” said Quimbo in a text message.

Quimbo said smugglers have become more brazen over the past few years due to the absence of tough laws penalizing the dumping of cheap or subsidized farm products in the country. “Part of the reason we’ve not been able to reduce poverty has been our inability to protect our farmers. This law corrects that,” said Quimbo.

The law imposes life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled product and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges due from the importer.

The proposed law also imposes a penalty of 17 to 20-year imprisonment for officers of dummy corporations, nongovernment organizations, associations, cooperatives, or single proprietorships who knowingly sell, lend, lease, assign, consent or allow the unauthorized use of their import permits for the smuggling of farm goods.

Economic sabotage referred not only to the illegal importation but also to the manipulation of prices to the detriment of the public. The law covers agricultural products that are plant-based or animal-based and raw or processed, including any commodity or product derived from livestock that is available for human or livestock consumption such as fish, forestry, seeds, poultry and dairy products.

The bill said the crime of large-scale agricultural smuggling as economic sabotage, involving sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables, in its raw state, or which have undergone the simple processes of preparation or preservation for the market, valued at a minimum amount of P10 million, as determined by the Bureau of Customs, would be deemed committed through any of the following acts:

*  Importation of farm products without a permit;
*  Using the permit of another person or entity;
*  Sale or lease or consenting of permits for use by other entities;
*  Misclassification, undervaluation or misdeclaration of import entries;
*  Forming or using dummy corporations or cooperatives to get a permit;
*  Transport or storage of smuggled goods; and,
*  Acting as middle man in releasing these goods.
SFM