Senators stated on Monday that high-ranking government officials, including unnamed politicians, are reportedly responsible for the illegal importation of vegetables from China, which has pushed the local economy to the brink of collapse.
The Senate resumed its inquiry into the difficulties plaguing the Bureau of Customs (BOC), focused on agricultural commodity smuggling, which was brought to the fore in December last year by Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s privilege speech.
Senators grilled officials from the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Agriculture (DA) for allegedly failing to stop the influx of imported agricultural items, primarily carrots, onions, and strawberries.
“We have a situation where agencies take no action even when smuggling is brazenly committed. So aside from the fact that the BOC and the DA have been compromised, there are untouchables,” said Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
“Those involved must be close to the powers that be, which is why we now have this situation,” the senator added.
Senators sensed that the personalities involved in the vegetable smuggling were in power after the sources hesitated to reveal their names publicly.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Federico Laciste Jr. stated throughout the hearing that “big-time” figures were involved in the illegal trade.
He claimed that “highly placed” individuals had urged him to dismiss the charges, but he added that he ignored them and went on to charge the accused.
Gov’t officials behind vegetable smuggling – senators
Laciste attempted to reveal the names in an executive session after being pressed to do so but was denied.
“If that will put you in trouble, you can write it down, and we will be the one to handle it,” Sotto said.
“We at the (DA) will act swiftly and decisively to reprimand those involved among our ranks, officials and staff. If found guilty, we will file the appropriate administrative charges against these individuals,” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.
Sotto also urged people not to eat smuggled carrots from China because they may have been covered with formalin or formaldehyde, an embalming chemical, to keep them fresh.
According to an officer of the League of Associations at the LA Trinidad Vegetable Trading, farmers in La Trinidad, Benguet, are losing an average of P2.5 million per day due to agricultural smuggling since the beginning of 2022.
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