PH bill equating agricultural smuggling with economic sabotage gets Lower House approval

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ID-100223851The Philippine Lower House has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to declare large-scale agricultural smuggling as an act of economic sabotage punishable with life imprisonment.

The Lower House on February 1 unanimously approved House Bill No. 6380, or the “Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act” which proposes to replace House Bill 6171.

Widespread smuggling of agricultural products has translated to P64 billion in foregone government revenues from 2013 to 2014, according to Marikina representative Romero Quimbo said, citing a report by the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura.

Quimbo, who is chairman of the House ways and means committee that endorsed the plenary approval of the bill, said the P32-billion loss per year “is more than enough to cover the budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for 2016, and with an excess sufficient to help rehabilitate our agricultural sector.”

With the adverse effects of agricultural smuggling on the government budget, food security, poverty alleviation, and other national concerns, Quimbo highlighted the need to strengthen laws that deter its commission.

House Bill 6380 declares as a state policy the promotion of productivity in the agriculture sector and the protection of farmers from unscrupulous traders and importers who, by illegally importing agricultural products, especially rice, significantly affect production, supply, and prices of these goods, and endanger food security in the country.

As such, the bill seeks to impose higher sanctions on perpetrators of large-scale smuggling as a measure to shield the agricultural sector from the manipulation of economic saboteurs, and to protect the livelihood of farmers and ensure their economic well-being.

The bill defines economic sabotage as “any act or activity which undermines, weakens or renders into disrepute the economic system or viability of the country or tends to bring out such effects and shall include, among others, price manipulation to the prejudice of the public especially in the sale of basic necessities and prime commodities.”

It refers to an agricultural product as “any agricultural commodity or product, whether plant based, animal based, raw or processed, including any commodity or product derived from livestock that is available for human or livestock consumption.” The definition also covers fish, forestry, seeds, poultry, and dairy products that have undergone various degrees of processing.

Moreover, the proposed law outlines what constitutes the crime of large-scale agricultural smuggling as a form of economic sabotage. It deems the act committed when it involves the smuggling of sugar, corn, pork, poultry, garlic, onion, carrots, fish, and cruciferous vegetables which are in their raw state or which have undergone simple preparation or preservation for the market, with a minimum amount of P1 million, or the smuggling of rice with a minimum amount of P10 million, as valued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Large-scale smuggling includes engaging in the following: import or bring into the country these products without the required import permit from the regulatory agencies; use import permits of persons, natural, juridical or entities without juridical personality other than those specifically named in the permit; use fake, fictitious, or fraudulent import permits or shipping documents, names of natural or juridical persons or entities without juridical personality, and addresses of consignees; and sell, lend, lease, assign, consent, or allow the use of import permits of corporations, nongovernment organizations, associations, cooperatives, or single proprietorships by other persons.

Also included are acts that attempt to misclassify, undervalue, or misdeclare when filing the import entry and revenue declaration with the BOC in order to evade paying the right taxes and duties due to the government; and organize or use corporations, NGOs, cooperatives, and single proprietorships to acquire import permits.

Transporting or storing agricultural products subject to economic sabotage in whatever quantity, and acting as broker of the violating importer are also deemed as agricultural smuggling.

Any individual who undertakes any of these acts faces a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product, plus the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties, and other charges due for the smuggled agricultural product.

The bill mandates a penalty of 17 to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural products and the aggregate amount of taxes, duties and other charges avoided on the officers of dummy corporations and other entities that knowingly sell, lend, lease, assign, consent, or allow the unauthorized use of their import permits for purposes of smuggling.

Meanwhile, imprisonment of 14 to 17 years and a fine equal to the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product and the aggregate amount of taxes, duties and other charges avoided await the registered owner and its lessee of boats, vessels, trucks, vans and other means of transportation used in the transport of smuggled agricultural products subject to economic sabotage.

The same penalty will be imposed on the owner and lessee of a warehouse or property who knowingly stores the smuggled agricultural product, as well as the registered owner, lessee, president or chief executive officer of the private port, fish port, fish landing sites, resorts, airports, who knowingly allow agricultural smuggling.

If the offender is a government official or employee, the penalty will be the maximum indicated and the offender made to bear the additional penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, voting, and participating in any public election.

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