The Agriculture department is undertaking a total recall and cancellation of all issued permits following the rampant cases of smuggled agricultural products. Philstar.com, File
MANILA, Philippines — Amid the holiday rush and the expected demand surge in food products, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered the cancellation of import permits of all agricultural products, particularly meat, in its bid to address smuggling.
In a press briefing Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the department is undertaking a total recall and cancellation of all issued permits following the rampant cases of smuggled agricultural products.
“I issued instructions for an immediate cancellation of all import permits of all agricultural products because of persistent reports of recycling and technical smuggling. And this usually happens whenever Christmas season comes because of the great demand for meat and chicken,” he said.
“Many unscrupulous individuals are using the same permits all over again and the only way to check this is the total recall of all permits issued and we can only recall this by canceling all permits issued,” Piñol added.
All product permits that are under its attached agencies Bureau of Plant Industry and Bureau of Animal Industry will be canceled. Import permits for rice and corn, on the other hand, are not included as these are not under the umbrella of the DA.
As of now, all permits that importers have are deemed invalid and would have to undergo an additional process as importers need to personally appear at the DA-Office of the Secretary to be issued a new set of permits.
“When their [importers] shipments arrive at the ports, the Bureau of Customs will tell them that their permits have been canceled, then they have to go to DA here in Quezon City and we will issue a new permit in less than 24 hours,” Piñol explained.
Moreover, the Agriculture chief assured that the possible shortage of food supply is unlikely because the department will revalidate legal permits right away so as not to hinder the release of products into various markets.
“The cancellation will be immediately effective but the issuance of new permits will also be done immediately so there will be no disruption of economic activities,” Piñol said.
While the DA is yet to quantify the aggregate value that might be affected due to the order, Piñol is confident that the move would have no adverse impact on the country’s economy.
“We are not stopping any legal importation and there is no effort to stop such. There is no attempt to stop anything that’s legal,” he said.
“We are not stopping the entry of any shipment because we are just making sure that all permit to be used in the entry of these are valid and not recycled. It’s just a matter of checking the proliferation of smuggling,” Piñol added.
Furthermore, Piñol debunked insinuations that the department is allegedly pressuring importers to give money.
“We are not doing this to extort money. There’s no corruption in this department, I can assure you that and if ever there will be [people] involved in corruption in this department, I will kick them out,” he said.
Meanwhile, industry group Samahang Industriya sa Agrikultura (Sinag) welcomed the pronouncement of the Agriculture chief, saying smuggling continues to flourish because those who have benefited have never been punished despite the enactment of laws that aim to combat smuggling of agriculture products.
“We are just hoping that the re-issuance of new import permits would not be a new source of corruption for some people,” Sinag chairman Rosendo So said.
Data showed that the value of agricultural goods smuggled into the Philippines has jumped to nearly P200 billion under the Aquino administration mainly due to the onslaught of smugglers who are thriving on cheap imports from neighbouring countries.
This is more than double the P94 billion worth of agricultural commodities that flooded the local market during the previous administration.
“We will be very careful. I don’t want Filipino farmers to be placed at the losing end. If they have done this in the past, they cannot do this to me nor to the administration,” Piñol said.
Smuggled milled rice represented about half of the value of agricultural products brought into the country illegally at P94 billion.
The value of smuggled pork and sugar, on the other hand, amounted to P40 billion and P25 billion, respectively.
Sinag, the umbrella group of farmers, agribusiness operators and party-list groups, placed the foregone revenue at around P60-80 billion.
Agricultural commodities are supposed to be protected and levied a higher tariff of up to 40 percent.
Sinag said smuggling also exposes the country to unsafe and high-risk agriculture and food products as smuggled goods do not pass quarantine and food safety inspection.
