Unabated smuggling leads to closure of agribusinesses – AGAP
The continued decline in the production of feed-millers is due to a drop in the livestock population resulting from uncontrolled smuggling, party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones of the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) said as he sought an investigation of outright and technical smuggling activities in the country.
Briones said local agriculture businesses have been forced to close shop because they can no longer make a profit due to the widespread importation of agricultural products.
He noted that products from technical smuggling activities, like the misdeclaration or undervaluation of imported goods to evade higher taxes or customs quotas, have flooded the markets.
He said unaccounted and unchecked imported items may also expose Filipinos to health hazards such as bird flu, swine influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, mad cow disease, and other emerging animal diseases.
AGAP is pushing for the immediate convention of the Congressional Oversight Committee for Customs (COCC) mandated by Republic Act 7650 to monitor the implementation of the law on physical examination of cargo. The COCC has not been convened since the 1993 passage of the law.
AGAP is also supporting the passage of House Bill 15 by Rep. Lorenzo R. Tanada III, titled the Anti-Smuggling Bill of 2007, and the AGAP- sponsored House Bill 3110 or the Tariff and Customs Enforcement Act of 2007.
The two bills, AGAP said, should be considered urgent and priority by Congress to be able to check smuggling particularly in the agriculture sector.
AGAP urged the Department of Agriculture to impose the following:
1. Reduce issuance of import permits during June-December (lean months of pork) to encourage local production;
2. Disallow importation of meat products from disease-infested countries (the
3. Limit the importation of meat parts (offals, rind, fats, etc) to processors that operate processing plants and not to traders.
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