Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan vowed that he will go after the so-called “untouchables” in the multi-million-peso agricultural smuggling operations in the country as he ordered the issuances of subpoenas and arrest warrants against the owners and directors of several export companies that have allegedly engaged in the illegal import of unsafe agricultural products.
In a radio interview on Thursday, October 23, the senator said that the officers of these companies have disregarded or ignored the subpoenas issued by the Senate, and that warrants of arrests have already been issued because of their failure to appear before his committee.
Pangilinan heads the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, which is currently looking into the massive agricultural smuggling activities in the country involving Chinese companies, dummy Filipino owners, and officials of key government agencies.
“Ang mga untouchables, hanggang ngayon, untouchable pa rin. Kaya ako’y humihingi ng suporta sa ating mga kababayan sa usapin na ito. Ang media, we need to address this because hindi pwe-pwedeng ganito,” the senator, who lamented that no big-time smuggler or financier has been imprisoned or penalized under the 10-year Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law, said.
He pointed out that over 90% of the 127 cases in the last four years were dismissed due to the BOC failing to turn over documentary evidence of smuggling necessary to secure a conviction.
Citing the Department of Justice (DOJ), the senator stated that the BOC has failed to provide the necessary documentary evidence for case build up despite glaring misdeclarations in the shipments.
“So, ibig sabihin, makapangyarihan at may sabwatan,” Pangilinan lamented, while also naming the BOC and possibly the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for their involvement because the “dummy corporations” were able to obtain NBI clearances.
The senator assured that he would identify the mastermind of the agricultural smuggling activities after identifying alleged Chinese companies and individuals currently operating in the country.
He explained that smuggled agricultural products from China have been found to be unfit for human consumption by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“Ang information na natatanggap natin, itong mga unfit for human consumption, dadalhin dito sa bansa, lalagay, ilulublob sa formalin para linisin at ilalabas sa merkado,” Pangilinan said.
The senator stressed that agricultural smuggling is no different from the controversial Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) that corrupted the bureaucracy and exposed the gaps in the system. In smuggling, farmers, fisherfolk, consumers, and the country’s entire food chain suffer.
He assured that despite Congress being in recess, he will be in meetings with the Office of the Ombudsman, the DOJ, and the NBI in the coming days to find a way “to move forward” with the cases that have to be filed against several companies and individuals.