A Chinese national is facing charges after authorities caught him smuggling large quantities of ginger to the detriment of local farmers, the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) said yesterday.
PASG chief Undersecretary Antonio Villar said his men raided last week an ice plant in Malolos, Bulacan where they seized over 2,000 huge sealed boxes of imported ginger.
Villar said Sta. Monica Ice Plant/Freezo Inc. on Camino street in Barangay Bagna was raided following intelligence reports that ginger and other agricultural products from China were regularly shipped into the country.
He said the Bureau of Plant Industry certified that it has not issued any permits for ginger imports to protect local farmers.
Villar did not mention the market value of the seized ginger.
During the raid, Lino Cervantes, officer-in-charge of the Sta. Monica Ice Plant, said a certain James Sy of Binondo, Manila allegedly owned the boxes of ginger.
Villar said charges for violations of Presidential Decree 1433, or the Plant Quarantine Law, and the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines are being readied against Sy.