THE Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should be stricter in monitoring the entry of imported agricultural products in the country, an agriculture group said.
“Dapat tutukan ng DA at BOC ang mga pumapasok na agricultural product sa bansa,” Rosendo So, president and chairman of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), said in a radio interview on Saturday, Dec. 10.
So also said only 10% of the smuggled onions were confiscated by authorities.
“Ten percent pa lang ng mga smuggled na sibuyas ang nasasabat,” he said.
“Itong mga nasasabat na smuggled na sibuyas, maliit kumpara sa total ng mga smuggled onion na pumasok sa bansa,” So added.
Some P3.9 million worth of allegedly smuggled white onions were recently confiscated by authorities in Divisoria in Manila.
So said authorities should file the appropriate cases against smugglers and also brokers.
“Ang problema, for the past year, hindi nasampahan ng kaso ang ilang smuggler,” he added.
So also said some importers misdeclare their products to be able to smuggle agricultural products into the country.
Last weekend, the DA cautioned the public against purchasing onions from online platforms as these may be illegally imported into the country. (GMA Integrated News)
