Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 5) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he was not keen on giving a deadline on the investigation into agricultural smuggling in the country as he wants it done well and thoroughly, adding he wants an end to these activities which have caused Filipinos to suffer.
“Hindi ako mahilig magbigay ng deadline. Siyempre gusto ko tapusin nila kaagad, pero kailangan tapos, hindi hilaw. Let them do their investigation,” he said to media after delivering a speech at Livestock Philippines 2023, a trade fair showcasing technologies in livestock and poultry processing.
[Translation: I don’t like giving deadlines. Of course, I want them to finish right away, but it has to be a job well done. Let them do their investigation.]
Marcos added that there are many syndicates involved with hoarding and controlling the supply of onions in the country. The price of the commodity began to soar in mid-2022, reaching ₱700 per kilogram by the last quarter of that year.
In May, the Department of Agriculture said it would not announce a suggested retail price for onions yet.
“Ang pinag-uusapan, ang naging pagbasehan yung naging problema na maliwanag na nagho-hoarding, na kino-control ang supply ng sibuyas,” Marcos said.
“Ngunit ang utos ko sa DOJ (Department of Justice) at saka sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) ay kailangan malaman ninyo na hindi lamang sa sibuyas kung hindi sa mga sindikato, marami talagang sindikato, eh,” he added.
[Translation: The basis is the proof that there clearly was hoarding and control over the supply of onions. But my order to the DOJ and the NBI is they have to know this isn’t just about onions but about the syndicates, and there are a lot of them.]Marcos said he instructed the agencies to go after the syndicates and to stop their activities.
On Tuesday, the president ordered a probe into the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products, saying the act was equivalent to economic sabotage.
“Sa aking pananaw at sa palagay ko yung mga abogado natin ay sasang-ayon naman sa akin, ang aking pananaw yung kanilang ginagawa amounts to economic sabotage,” he said.
“Kaya’t yun ang aming direksyon dito sa pag-iimbestiga na ito,” he added. “Hindi natin basta pabayaan ito, dahil may ginugutom na Pilipino, may namamatay from starvation and poverty ang Pilipino dahil sa kanilang ginagawa.”
[Translation: For me, and I think our lawyers will agree, what they’re doing amounts to economic sabotage. That is the direction of this investigation. We will not let this go, because Filipinos are starving and dying from starvation because of what they’re doing.]
On Tuesday, the DOJ said it would create an Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force which, along with a special team of prosecutors, would be “primarily focused on protecting the entire agricultural sector, not only the onion industry.”
“The shared objective is clear: to dismantle these smuggling networks and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice,” said the DOJ.
On the task force, Department of Agriculture spokesperson Kristine Evangelista said it would strengthen the government’s anti-smuggling efforts as well as to go after cartels.
“Ang ating inspectorate team po, sa pamumuno ni Assistant Secretary James Layug, patuloy naman po ang kanilang operations, together with BOC (Bureau of Customs). And ngayon po, ang DOJ ay kasama rin namin; and ito po talaga ay, sa tingin namin, makakatulong para lagyan ng lunas ang problema ng kartel na dati pa man ay na-raise na,” she said.
[Translation: Our inspectorate team, under the leadership of Assistant Secretary James Layug, is continuing with their operations together with the BOC. And now, the DOJ is with us as well, and this, we believe, will solve the problem of cartels which have been raised long before.]
Meanwhile, the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) said they welcomed Marcos’ order on the probe saying congressional hearings so far have been “useless” and no one has been formally charged, put to trial, or served time behind bars.
“Tama ang tugon ng presidente na habulin at kasuhan na sila,” said SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet in a statement.
