Senators slam BOC for seizing PAL crew onions amid big-time smuggling

At least four senators on Monday questioned the Bureau of Customs' seizure of undeclared agricultural products allegedly brought in by Philippine Airlines crew members while big-time smugglers went unpunished.

At a Senate hearing, Senator JV Ejercito said the alleged January 10 attempt by PAL crew members to bring in onions, lemons, and strawberries as "pasalubong" instead of other goods such as perfumes and shoes was a "cause of alert" and an "eye-opener." 

"Ang nakakalungkot itong ating pinuntirya Philippine Airlines crew na tag-dalawang kilo, isang kilo. Pero 'yung mga container na nakakalusot e parang may pampabulag na tayo, pampalabo ng mata. Ano ba ang nangyayari sa atin?" Ejercito said.

(What's disheartening is our focus on the Philippine Airlines crew, who each had one to two kilos. But these containers that slip through, it's like we are blind to it, the vision gets blurry. What's going on with us?)

"I think this is an eye opener na sabi ko nga sa halip na mansanas at ubas e sibuyas na ang pampasalubong ng ating mga airline crew para sa kanilang pamilya," he added.

(I think this is an eye opener. Like I said, instead of apples and grapes, airline crew gift their families with onions.)

Senator Raffy Tulo meanwhile asked the BOC why it failed to arrest big-time smugglers who bring in products in containers.

Tulfo said the incident with the PAL crew was "unacceptable" as the alleged smugglers that Senator Cynthia Villar discussed, as mentioned in a column published in a local newspaper, went unpunished.

He added that while the PAL crew were shamlessly humiliated, big-time smugglers remained at large.

"Siguro kainuman niyo pa gabi gabi, baka ka-coffee niyo. Siguro nandyan pa sa opisina niyo baka naka-dekwatro pa, nakataas pa siguro ang paa sa mesa habang kinakausap kayo tapos siguro may dalang sako sakong salapi," he added.

(Maybe you have nightly drinks with them, maybe you have coffee with them. Maybe they are in your offices with their legs crossed or have their feet up on your table while chatting with you. Then maybe they have sacks of cash with them.)

Senator Grace Poe also sympathized with the PAL crew members, saying matters had reached the point that they opted to bring in onions from other countries because the price of the product is higher than the minimum wage in the Philippines.

Poe also questioned why no action was being taken against smugglers, whom she said were known since her early days as a senator.

"Hanggang ngayon 'yan pa rin ang naririnig natin [na mga pangalan]. Ilang taon na kami ni Senator Cynthia sa Senado hindi pa rin mahuli huli 'yan... Madam chair, sana po itong huling term natin ngayon sa Senado ay yung mga matatagal nang mga kumikilos na nagi-smuggle ng mga bagay na yan ay maikulong na sana kasi hindi pa rin po natuto at tama ang sinabi ni Senator Tulfo na baka mga kabarkada ng DA 'yang mga yan," Poe said.

(We keep hearing about this to this day. Senator Cynthia and I have been in the Senate for year and they still haven't been caught. Madam chair, I hope that in our last term in the Senate these long-time smugglers are finally jailed. Senator Tulfo might be right, that maybe they are chummy with the DA.)

Further, Poe joined the call of other senators for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to appoint a full-fledged Agriculture Secretary to address the problems in the sector.

"Panahon na rin siguro talaga na magkaroon ng DA secretary na aako sa kawalan ng aksyon sa agricultural crisis na ito. Asukal noong una, sibuyas naman ngayon. Ihi-hearing ata natin lahat ng kailangan sa kusina. Iba-ibang ingredients pero pare-parehong kwento sa price gouging, supply manipulation at smuggling. Wala tayong mahiwa pero iyak pa rin tayo nang iyak," Poe said.

(First it was sugar, now it's onions. Are we going to have hearings on everything used in the kitchen? Different ingredients but the same story of price gouging, supply manipulation and smuggling. We have nothing to slice but we keep crying.)

At the latter part of the hearing, Tulfo said the officials of the BOC should resign for failing to get information on the agricultural smugglers in the country.

"Kung sasabihin niyo, 'Hindi po namin alam yan. Ngayon lang namin narinig,' then you should resign especially kayo d'yan sa intelligence ng Customs," Tulfo said.

BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla said he would ask the Customs Intelligence Investigation Service (CCIS) to send a report to Tulfo's office regarding agricultural smuggling in the country.

But the senator said he wanted action from the agency, not a report.

"Meron po kaming 86 containers na nahuli recently. These are onions. Dinaan po sa port ng Mindanao Container Terminal, Subic, and Davao," he said.

Maronilla also disclosed that they had recently seized smuggled agricultural products, such as rice, in the high seas.

Meanwhile, Senator Robin Padilla suggested issuing a subpoena on the alleged smugglers who were named in the article that Villar had mentioned during the hearing.

However, Villar said the Senate Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform Committee would look into that suggestion as these individuals had been investigated in the previous Congresses.

Villar said she was tired of investigating alleged smuggling of agricultural products because the problem keeps recurring.

"Kaya ako medyo tinatamad na ako mag-investigate. Imagine, ang tagal tagal na n'yan. It's common knowledge. Magbabait sila pag nag-investigate ka, tapos uulit uli... e bakit hindi niyo pa ikulong para tapos na ang problema natin kasi kung wala kayong ikinukulong walang madadala, walang matatakot. mag-sample naman kayo," Villar said.

(That's why I'm a little worn out by investigations. It's taken so long. It's common knowledge. They'll feign innocence during an investigation, after which they'll be back at it. Why don't you jail them, that will fix our problem. If you don't convict anyone, no one will be disuadded, no one will be scared straight. Make an example of someone.) — DVM, GMA Integrated News