DA, PNP boost anti-smuggling campaign
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is intensifying its anti-smuggling campaign after discovering the sale of suspected smuggled onions in Paco Market in Manila.
On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA will partner with the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the crackdown against smuggled agricultural products they discovered smuggled onions being sold in the market.
The imported red onions are larger and cleaner than local varieties. It also surfaced in markets despite the absence of import permits, he added.
'We did not give any permits to anybody since early this year. Lahat ng imported onions sa lahat ng palengke ay smuggled iyan,' said Laurel Jr.
'It's the directive of President Bongbong Marcos to stop smuggling—that's why we now have this law,' he said.
The DA will conduct lab testing of seized onions to ensure they are not a public health threat. Previous inspections found traces of E. coli and heavy metals in smuggled white onions.
'But of course, our target remains the so-called 'big fish.' We will raid warehouses with the help of the PNP,' said Tiu Laurel.
Meanwhile, the DA said they are also eyeing to train police officers to distinguish between locally produced and imported agricultural products, including pork, as part of efforts to strengthen the government's anti-smuggling campaign.
In October 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12022 into law, which repeals the 2016 Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act and introduces tougher, more comprehensive enforcement mechanisms.—VAL, GMA Integrated News
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