Latest news with #P34
GMA Network
08-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
P100M worth of smuggled mackerel, vegetables seized in Subic
Authorities seized P100 million of misdeclared onions, carrots, and frozen mackerel in the Port of Subic in Zambales. According to Oscar Oida's Tuesday report on '24 Oras,' agricultural products from China were found inside 10 container vans. 'They declared it as chicken lollipops and chicken karaage and it turns out to be sibuyas (onions), carrots and mackerel so misdeclared definitely, yung kanilang accreditation nagparating mapuputol na yon (their accreditation will be revoked),' said Noel Estanislao, Bureau of Customs (BOC) district collector. The 10 container vans were among the first 52 flagged by Customs which in turn issued clearances to 19 others. 'It destroys the lives of our farmers and fisherfolks, yung mga legitimate businessman na gumagawa ng tama. Anything na na pumasok na pagkain can be a biohazard kaya nandun yung national security angle,' Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr said. (It destroys the lives of our farmers, fisherfolks, and businessmen who follow the rules. Any food entering the country can be a biohazard, so we're looking at national security.) Last week, authorities seized P34 million worth of frozen mackerel in the Port of Manila. DA said 20 companies were blacklisted because of agricultural smuggling. They will face charges for violating the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act. Laurel said the company's broker, stockholder, president, director, and corporate secretary will also be investigated. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
01-07-2025
- GMA Network
BOC, DOH, DA unveil P34M worth of smuggled onions, frozen fish in Manila
The Bureau of Customs (BOC), along with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), unveiled several containers of misdeclared agricultural products at the Port of Manila on Tuesday. In the unveiling, authorities from BOC, DOH, and DA revealed that 6 container vans from China that were initially declared as 'mantou, egg noodles, and kimchi' turned out to be smuggled agricultural products worth at least P34 million. The imports reportedly arrived in the country on May 27 and June 1 and was flagged on June 10 to contain P10.2 million worth of red onions, P3.8 million worth of white onions, and P20.08 million worth of frozen mackerel. The smuggled imports added up to an estimated value of P34,203,504.38. 'As you see now, there are three agencies here working together because yung programa po ng gobyerno ngayon pagdating sa agricultural smuggling is a whole of government approach. Meaning, di po to responsibilidad lamang ng Department of Agriculture, tulong tulong po ang buong gobyerno dito,' said BOC Assistant Commissioner and Spokesperson Vincent Maronilla. (As you see now, there are three agencies here working together because the government's program when it comes to agricultural smuggling is a whole of government approach. This means that it's not just the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, and that the entire government will work together on this.) Any individual found to be involved in the said importation may face charges for violation of the amended Agricultural Smuggling Act and the Customs and Tariff Act for Illegal Importation. DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Attorney Paolo Teston noted that unapproved agricultural produce may not be safe for human consumption. 'Pwede merong may mga lead, may poisonous products, heavy metals, mikrobyo [ang mga produkto na ito]… They did not go through the regulation of Food and Drug Administration. Yung FDA, yun ang trabaho para maging safe lahat ng pagkaing binebenta sa ating mga tindahan para sa mamamayan natin,' said Herbosa. ([These products] may contain lead, poisonous products, heavy metals, or microbes… They did not go through the regulation of Food and Drug Administration. That is the FDA's job to ensure that all the food being sold in markets to the public is safe.) He also pointed out that even the labelled products were considered contraband, as it did not follow the FDA regulations for English labels. Should the smuggled produce be declared safe for human consumption following further testing, the items may be turned over to the DA for distribution to the public. However, Laurel said the tested contraband were positive for and salmonella, which may lead to gastrointestinal illnesses and death in severe cases. 'Etong isda, mukhang may pag-asa na sana okay. Kung sakaling okay ito, malamang ipapamigay ito ni Pangulo sa mga tao pag tested as food-safe,' Laurel shared. (The fish may possibly be fine. If this is okay and tested as food-safe, it will most likely be distributed by the President to the public.) 'Ang E. coli causes gastro-intestinal illnesses, pagtatae, [at] paglalagnat. Kung may edad ka o batang-bata, pwede ka pa mamatay from dehydration. So, may issue talaga ng food safety ang smuggled food items,' Herbosa continued. (E. coli causes gastro-intestinal illnesses, diarrhea, [and] fever. If you are very old or very young, you may even die of dehydration. There really is an issue with food safety when it comes to smuggled food items.) On the part of the DA, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that they have blacklisted a total of 18 companies for alleged smuggling from January to June 2025 and are looking into adding more following the unveiling of further suspected illegal imports in Subic. 'Mayroon kaming pinapahold na 59 containers sa Subic ngayon. I would like to inform everybody, lalo na sa customs brokers na nagre-release ng mga ito. Hahabulin [sila], kasama sila sa kaso ngayon. Hindi lang yung consignee… 18 na yung nakblacklist namin [na companies as of] 6 months. Magiging 25 pa yan pag nabuksan pa yung sa Subic,' said Laurel. (We are currently holding 59 containers in Subic. I would like to inform everybody, especially customs brokers that released these. We will chase [them down], and they are included in the charges now. Not just the consignee… There are 18 blacklisted [companies as of] 6 months. It will become 25 once we open once we open the ones in Subic.) 'As long as we work together, tuloy-tuloy, I am confident na 90% [ng mga smugglers] dito masusugpo natin. Noong ako ay nagswear-in nung November 2023, yan yung isa sa unang direktiba [ni President Marcos]. Solve agricultural smuggling, kaya di po kami humihinto diyan. Matinik din yung kalaban natin, pero as long as we work together here in government, I think we will solve the problem,' he added. (As long as we continuously work together, I am confident that 90% [of these smugglers] will be eradicated. When I swore in last November 2023, this was one of the first directives [of President Marcos]. Solve agricultural smuggling, so we will not stop. Our enemy is very clever, but as long as we work together here in government, I think we will solve the problem.) Laurel noted that DA is looking into calling for risk assessments on containers from China, following back-to-back smuggled import busts of agricultural produce from said country. '[Sa] China lahat [galing ang shipments], kaya magri-risk assessment tayo ng galing sa China [na containers]. Kung kailangan buksan lahat ng container galing China, gagawin natin yun para siguradong wala nang makalusot,' he said. (All [the shipments came from] China, so we will conduct a risk assessment on [containers from] China. If we need to open all containers from China, we will do so to ensure none of them will sneak past us.) Earlier, the DA reported that smuggled onions collected and tested from Paco Public Market last week have tested positive for E. coli. Laurel said the items had been confiscated in coordination with the LGU. A separate shipment of 25 metric tons of red onions were also found at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental. It will undergo further testing for contaminants, including heavy metals, pesticide residue, and other harmful bacteria. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
25-05-2025
- General
- GMA Network
No winners of major lotto draws on Sunday, May 25, 2025
There were no winners of either of the major lotto jackpots offered by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Sunday, May 25, 2025. No bettor chose the winning combination of 57-51-13-47-24-18 for the Ultra Lotto 6/58 jackpot, which has now reached P76,870,794.40. There was also no winning bettor for the Superlotto 6/49 prize of P34,162,383.60, with nobody choosing the winning numbers 35-13-42-14-24-16. Click here for the complete lotto results for Sunday, May 25, 2025. — BM, GMA Integrated News
