New DA office formed vs smuggling

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has created a new office to combat rising smuggling cases of agricultural products.

In an order signed by DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, the agency created the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement under the National Food Safety and Food Security Agency.

This office is intended to “curb agricultural smuggling and price manipulation as economic sabotage to ensure food safety and food security, promote fair trade and protect the livelihood and well-being of our farmers and fisherfolk.”

It will lead the agency’s efforts against agricultural smuggling in compliance with the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 and the Food Safety Act of 2013.

“Agri-fishery smuggling endangers not only the livelihood of our farmers and fisherfolk, but also threatens the health and safety of the consumers due to the influx of food products that did not undergo proper quality control and inspection,” the DA said.

“The proliferation of smuggled food products drives the market prices down, discouraging local food production. Such a phenomenon has weakened the agricultural sector resulting in the decline in food security and food safety,” it said.

The new office will investigate regulatory and policy violations as well as assist in law enforcement and prosecution of cases.

It will also recommend and provide inputs to enhance existing regulations, standards, and procedures.

As part of the efforts to curb smuggling, the office will also conduct intelligence operations on illegal activities that impede agricultural development and violate regulatory policies, which negatively impact the national economy.

It will handle document tracking, commodity monitoring and field inspection to deter profiteering, price manipulation and hoarding pursuant to The Price Act, as well as facilitate the digitalization of all DA trade transactions and establish an information fusion center for intelligence, investigation, and economic analytics.

The Inspectorate and Enforcement office is mandated to conduct field visits for the monitoring and validation of all the programs and projects as well as ensure that these are being implemented in accordance with the operational plans and guidelines, including proper fund utilization.

Meanwhile, the DA warned online sellers and consumers from selling and buying smuggled onions.

Online sellers will be held liable for retailing smuggled onions, DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said in an interview yesterday.

“We are telling you not to do that because it is imported and smuggled. When you are caught, you are accountable as accomplices,” he said.