Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 28) – Benguet farmers were forced to give away their harvest for free as smuggled carrots flooded local markets, a group told senators on Monday.
Photos presented by the League of Associations at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas show sacks of unsold carrots at markets in Quezon province and Tondo, Manila this month.
At one point, five tons were given away for relief, “because the buyers opted to buy the smuggled carrots,” Agot Balanoy, the group’s public relations officer, said during the second hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on agricultural smuggling.
Balanoy said most consumers prefer buying carrots smuggled from China because these can last up to two months, when local carrots spoil in a two to three days.
“There are cases wherein the farmers are giving away their produce as reliefs or they throw it away in the farm or kahit pa nga sa roadside, binabasura na nila e (or dump them on the roadside),” Balanoy said.
This, when farmers shelled out ₱25 per kilo as cost of production, she said.
According to the group, there was a 20% decline in daily orders for Benguet vegetables last year, but this doubled to 40% as smuggling became more rampant this year. Farmers are losing ₱2.5 million per day, Balanoy said.
She said agricultural smuggling stopped for a few days after the Senate’s first hearing on December 14, but evidence of its return was seen as early as Christmas Eve.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Federico Laciste said it’s a decades-long problem due to lack of real-time monitoring without automated processes.
Senate committee on agriculture chairperson Cynthia Villar said importers should be mandated to provide real-time information, and withhold permits from those who won’t comply.
“Coming from law enforcement… Pag walang nangyayari, may kompromiso (If nothing’s happening, there’s a compromise). As simple as that. So kindly look into that,” Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said.
“May nakompromiso I agree but at the same time may untouchable… Malakas ang kapit na ayaw nilang habulin,” said Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
[Translation: I agree there’s a compromise but at the same time there are untouchables with strong backers that’s why they go unscathed.]
Without naming names, Laciste admitted he received phone calls from people trying to influence the proceedings.
“Meron po kasing mga hinuhuli nung nakaraan, may mga tumatawag sa akin na matataas na tao… tinuloy pa rin namin yung paghuli,” he said.
[Translation: During an operation in the past, influential people called me, but we pushed through with the arrest.]
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III asked him to submit the names of these people, whom he said were “dating nakapwesto (previously in power).”
Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie Guhit said four cases have been filed over smuggling and that the accused in one of these cases posted bail. He did not disclose details.
