FRESH from a heart surgery, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla is busy supervising his team which is working on a case buildup against at least seven individuals who have been identified in previous congressional fact-finding hearings as involved in the highly scandalous and illegal smuggling of onions and other agricultural products.
Helping Secretary Remulla in this mission is Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon and Justice Undersecretary Jess Andres. Also on board are members of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force notably Prosecutor General Benedicto Malcontento and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) head Director Medardo de Lemos.
The DOJ and the NBI are preparing charges of economic sabotage against the smugglers and hoarders of onion only now, half a year since prices of this popular commodity needed in almost all Filipino dishes reached the roof.
‘Remulla said they are pouring over the minutes of the smuggling hearings in the House and it should be easy enough for them to gather evidence against offenders already identified by the House.’
The big push came from President Bongbong Marcos himself, who stressed in a speech last week that he wanted to end smuggling especially of food products once and for all, and he intends to see no stone unturned toward this end.
The President’s directive came after Rep. Stella Quimbo of Marikina’s second district relayed to him the House committee on agriculture’s findings that an onion cartel is actively manipulating prices and supply of the commodity.
In her memorandum to the President, she said the cartel has allegedly been operating through the Philippine Vegetable Importers, Exporters and Vendors Association (VIEVA) Group of Companies Inc. (PVGCI), a private corporation reportedly engaged in farming, importation, local trading, warehousing, and logistics. Other suspected economic saboteurs utilize their extensive network to manage the supply of agricultural products through monopolistic control of cold storage facilities and warehouses.
Secretary Remulla said the suspected smugglers and hoarders can be charged with violation of Republic Act 10845, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, which imposes severe penalties for illegal importation of agricultural products.
Aside from smuggling, offenders can also be hailed to court for the related crimes of profiteering and hoarding, which are considered acts of economic sabotage.
Public hearings on the problem of smuggling of food products in the House of Representatives and in the Senate that ran for several weeks should make the NBI and DOJ’s task of building up a case against the smugglers easier. For one, names and personalities of those involved had been identified and validated.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez should explain, though, why the hearing in the Committee on Ways and Means was canceled in the wee hours of the morning of Jan. 30, 2023 some four hours before it was to start, and the task given to the Committee on Agriculture, which up to now has not resumed its hearing. This occurred after the panel, acting on a resolution filed by Sultan Kudarat 2nd district Rep. Horacio Suansing Jr., had identified specific names of suspected smugglers, at least two of whom were known factotums of Malacañang.
Remulla said they are pouring over the minutes of the smuggling hearings in the House and it should be easy enough for them to gather evidence against offenders already identified by the House.
