Marcos: Agri imports to undergo pre-border verification, inspection

In a bid to curb agricultural smuggling, the Philippines will soon enforce pre-shipment inspection and verification of imported agricultural products, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday.

“Soon, we will be implementing the pre-border technical verification and cross-border electronic invoicing of import commodities,” Marcos said in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“This will send a strong signal that we mean serious business,” the President added.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. had said that the pre-shipment inspections could be enforced within three months to bolster food safety measures and curb smuggling activities detrimental to local farmers and public health.

The Agriculture Secretary also said that the first of five CEFAs or Cold Examination Facilities for Agriculture would “start operations by early next year.”

A CEFA is a sanitary/phytosanitary inspection facility for imported animals, fish, plants, and other agricultural products.

Marcos, meanwhile, said that through modernized Customs procedures and heightened enforcement efforts, “more than P2.7 billion worth of smuggled agri-fisheries products have been seized, preventing them from entering the market and negatively influencing prices.”

“Bilang leksyon, ang mga nasabat na kargamento ng bigas ay agad nating ipinamahagi sa ating mga mahihirap na kababayan (As a lesson, the seized rice shipments would be immediately distributed to the poor),” the President said.

“Ganoon din ang sasapitin ng lahat ng mga ipupuslit pang mga bigas. Ang ibang mga produkto naman ay ating sisirain o susunugin — bukod pa sa pagkaka-kulong ng mahuhuling mga salarin (All smuggled rice will will end up that way. Other products will be condemned —apart from the jail time to be imposed against those who will be arrested),” Marcos said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News