Kiko Pangilinan invites consignees of alleged smuggled crops to Senate hearing

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Wednesday disclosed the names of five consignees of shipments suspected to contain smuggled agricultural products. 

During the hearing of the Senate committee on agriculture, food, and agrarian reform, the senator then directed the Senate committee secretary to invite the brokers and company representatives to the next hearings of the committee scheduled on August 27 and September 1.

“Under the Anti-Agriculture Economic Sabotage Law, ‘pag P15 at P20 million ay dapat non-bailable economic sabotage cases. So technically, kung may basehan at nakita mismo ni [Agriculture] Secretary Kiko…nakita nilang binuksan, eh dapat sinampahan na ng kaso at arestuhin na ang mga ito,” Pangilinan said.

(Under the Anti-Agriculture Economic Sabotage Law, if it’s between P15 and P20 million, they are considered as non-bailable economic sabotage cases. So technically, if there is a basis and Agriculture Secretary Kiko saw that these were opened, then they should face charges and get arrested.) 

Undersecretary Carlos Carag then explained that the Department of Agriculture (DA) does not have law enforcement powers.

“In as much as we want to do more than our job or our responsibility, we are not even included in the law enforcement group of the council under the new law of [RA] 12022… So we are very limited, we have to coordinate all our actions with the law enforcement agencies,” he said.

Carag said that the DA continues to surveil, along with the administration of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), regarding the matter.

"They do have all the containers still within their jurisdiction. But it's under the BOC and the council. Walang kinalaman ang DA sa pagsunod ng kaso [the DA has no hand in the case]," the DA official added.

Section 7 of Republic Act No. 12022, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Sabotage Act, states that the crime of agricultural smuggling as economic sabotage is committed when the value of each or of the combination of agricultural and fishery products smuggled by a person is at least P10 million computed using the daily price index at the time the crime was committed.

Pangilinan further questioned why there are no government officials allegedly behind rice smuggling, as previously mentioned by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in May, who have been arrested. 

He raised concerns that these government officials may have already “escaped.” 

“Tatlong buwan mula noon, three months after of hunger, of rising prices, of farmers drowning in losses. and yet—nasaan ang mga opisyal na ito? Sino sila? At bakit wala pa rin nasasampahan ng kaso? O kung meron man, wala pang nakukulong? Lalo ang mga importers at smugglers. Let us stop pretending we do not know the problem,” the senator said. 

(Three months since then, three months of hunger, of rising prices, of farmers drowning in losses and yet—where are these officials? Who are they? And why is there still no one charged? Or if there is, why is no one jailed? Especially the importers and smugglers. Let us stop pretending we do not know the problem.) –NB, GMA Integrated News