Smuggled onions, mackerel worth P34M seized at Manila port
The Department of Agriculture (DA) vowed to jail smugglers of agricultural products as authorities seized more than P34 million worth of imported onions and frozen mackerel on Tuesday.
“We will definitely go after them and we need to see those violating our laws in handcuffs by the end of the year,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in an interview.
While admitting that the entry of smuggled goods into the country has not reached “alarming” levels, he expressed frustration over the brazenness of violators.
“Their boldness, their audacity is annoying,” Tiu Laurel said, adding, “They’re so brazen. It’s like they have no respect for the law. No respect for our farmers …, our fishermen. It seems that they are insulting us. That’s not right.”
Earlier, the DA, in coordination with the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Plant Industry, seized P34.12 million worth of smuggled imported onions and mackerel at the Port of Manila.
Consignees had declared the shipment, which was stored in six 40-foot container vans and arrived in Manila from China on May 27 and June 1, as assorted food items such as egg noodles, spring rolls and dumplings.
But a joint inspection revealed the contents as red and white onions, and frozen mackerel.
Latinx Consumer Goods Trading was the listed consignee for two vans containing onions, while the other four vans—one filled with yellow onions and the rest with mackerel—were consigned to Lexxa Consumer Goods Trading.
The approximately 74 metric tons of fresh red onions were valued at an estimated P10.3 million, the yellow onions at P3.82 million, while the frozen mackerel had an estimated value of between P13 million and P20 million.
Assistant Customs Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla noted that some importers were deliberately misdeclaring their goods to try to get past authorities.
“What they do is to put a layer [of other goods] on, thinking that our risk management system will just tag them for normal examination and our personnel will not inspect the goods at the back,” he said.
As for the seized items, these will be tested to determine their fitness for human consumption. If proven to be safe, the goods will be turned over to the DA for the government’s food security program.
The smuggling and hoarding of agricultural products is considered economic sabotage if their value exceeds P10 million, according to the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act signed by President Marcos last year.
