P100M worth of smuggled mackerel, vegetables seized in Subic
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
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