Sen. Imee Marcos yesterday urged President Marcos Jr. to order the immediate arrest of identified smugglers of agricultural products to solve the country’s problems on the rising prices of farm produce.
In an interview with dzMM, Marcos said that while several agricultural smugglers have already been identified, the Department of Agriculture, which the President heads, and the Bureau of Customs have done nothing to put these people behind bars.
The President is the senator’s brother.
She said it is high time that President Marcos stop being soft-hearted and show his discontent on the unabated smuggling of agricultural products which is killing the local farming industry.
“Kasi ang plano dati talagang kukunin niya ‘yung DA kasi ‘yan ang pinakamalaking problema natin. Kaya lang ang pagkakaintindi ko ang unang gagawin, talagang tutugisin lahat ng mga smuggler…Talagang wala, pariwara pa rin sila, barkada nila ang DA at Customs yata kasi hindi nahuhuli. Pambihirang buhay ito! Kilala naman natin kung sino sila
(The plan was that he [President Marcos] will get the DA portfolio since that is our biggest problem. However, to my understanding, his marching order is to run after the smugglers… But nothing has happened. The smugglers are still doing their illegal activities and it seems that they are friends with the DA and Customs that’s why they remain scot-free. It’s frustrating since the smugglers have already been identified),” the senator said.
Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III has previously released the names of alleged agricultural smugglers, which he said was based on intelligence information that his office gathered.
Sotto disclosed the names in the Senate committee of the whole report on its investigation into the unabated smuggling of agricultural products.
The agricultural smugglers were identified in the committee report as Mayor Jun Diamante who reportedly operates in the ports of Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, and Subic; Gerry Teves, who reportedly operates in the country’s major ports; David Tan alias David Bangayan, Manuel Tan, Jude Logarta, Leah Cruz/Luz Cruz/Lilia Matabang who is the alleged “onion queen,” Andy Chua, George Tan, Paul Teves, Tommy Go, and Wilson Chua.
Marcos said there is an addition to the list of sugar smugglers, which she identified as a certain Henry Joel Teves of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
“Parang alam na ng lahat ng tao kung sino ang mga ito, pero wala namang humuhuli sa kanila. Ang masaklap niyan pag minanipula nila ang presyo, ginagamit pa ‘yung mga kooperatiba, ‘yung mga magsasaka (It seems that everyone knows who these people are and yet nobody is arresting them. Worse, they even manipulate the prices of agricultural products using cooperatives and the farmers),” she said.
Marcos noted that the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act was signed into law in 2016 but not one big fish has been arrested so far.
“Anong klase iyon? Kaya ito ang usapan, masyado daw mabait ang ading ko… Aba’y pati ‘yung Santo Kristo natin nagalit sa templo at pinagbubulyawan ang pari at escribo. Kailangan yata magalit na rin siya (What kind of law is that? They say that my younger brother is kind… But even Jesus Christ got angry when a temple was turned into a marketplace. I think my my brother should get angry now),” she said.
She likewise reiterated that now is the time for her brother to appoint a full-time DA secretary.
“Hindi mo puedeng ipusta sa pinag-uutangan ng loob o kung sinu-sinong kamag-anak dyan…’Yung agriculture highly technical ‘yan, science ‘yan eh (He should not appoint someone who he is indebted to or someone who is a relative… The agriculture sector is highly technical, that is science-based),” she added.
