JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said his office will submit to Malacañang a draft executive order calling for the establishment of an “on call” anti-smuggling task force to act against the illegal entry of agricultural products and other economic crimes.
“I am trying to put up a task force to deal with agricultural smuggling and I will be submitting a draft executive order to Malacañang for this purpose,” Remulla told reporters.
“I need an ad hoc body to be permanently on call for agricultural smuggling and probably other economic crimes related to the Bureau of Customs,” he also said.
He declined to provide additional details on the proposed body, except that it will be headed by an executive director.
In September, Remulla urged government officials to cooperate in the ongoing investigation on the smuggling of agricultural products into the country, saying that the DOJ will not hesitate to file charges against them before the Office of the Ombudsman if they refused or failed to do so.
Remulla said this is to ensure full cooperation among government agencies and officials in the effort to stamp out the smuggling of agricultural products such as rice and onion.
In May this year, the DOJ told the Senate that of the 159 smuggling cases filed since 2016, only nine have reached the courts while the rest were dismissed due to lack of probable cause.
The issue of agricultural smuggling in the country has prompted President Marcos Jr. to order a probe last July into the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products, saying the crime is a form of economic sabotage.
Last month, the National Bureau of Investigation recommended the filing of charges against former Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista, Bureau of Plant Industry Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban, and Director Junibert de Sagun, the OIC of the DA’s agribusiness and marketing assistance service, in connection with the smuggling of and the alleged price manipulation of onions sold in the local market that led to the spike in prices last year.
