Acting on information provided by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr., a composite team from the Department of Agriculture-Inspectorate and Enforcement Office, the Bureau of Customs, and other law enforcement units, raided an illegal storage facility in Navotas, Thursday night, that led to the discovery and seizure of over 300 tons of smuggled vegetables, including onions and carrots.
Secretary Tiu Laurel underscored the importance of strictly enforcing the law against smuggling and unfair trade practices. “We cannot allow illegal trade practices such as this to continue hurting the livelihood of our farmers. The order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is clear: Go after these smugglers without let up,” he said.
In response to the abundant harvest of onions and carrots, the Secretary has ordered the Bureau of Plant Industry to suspend all issuances of import permits for these vegetables.
The initial reports from the raiding team revealed that one of the two cold storage facilities contained 132.75 tons of white onions, valued at P21.2 million. Another storage yielded 89.89 tons of imported carrots worth approximately P13.48 million.
Additionally, the raid uncovered 360 kilos of tomatoes, 10 kilos of enoki mushrooms, and a 40-footer container van loaded with 92.25 tons of imported white onions.
Secretary Tiu Laurel also highlighted the critical support provided by Navotas Mayor John Rey Tiangco and Congressman Toby Tiangco, noting their coordination with local police and barangay authorities.
“The help extended by Navotas Mayor John Rey and Congressman Toby was crucial in ensuring that we do right by our farmers, whose livelihoods are hurt by unfair trade practices, especially smuggling. Aside from harming our farmers, smuggled agricultural goods also put at risk the health of the Filipino consumer,” said Secretary Tiu Laurel.
The DA chief encourages the public to report to him or other agriculture officials information on smuggling of agricultural products to ensure Filipino farmers interest are protected. ###
