President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said there will be no deadline for the investigation into agricultural smuggling that he ordered.
Marcos told reporters he would let the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the reported hoarding, smuggling, and price fixing of agricultural products.
“Hindi ako mahilig magbigay ng deadline. Siyempre gusto ko matapos nila nang maaga pero kailangan tapos, hindi hilaw,” Marcos said.
(I don’t like giving deadlines. Of course, I want them to finish soon but I don’t want half-baked results.)
“Let them do their investigation. Wala namang particular, ang pinag-usapan, ang naging pagbasehan ‘yung naging problema sa maliwanag na nagho-hoarding, na kinokontrol ‘yung suplay ng sibuyas,” Marcos added.
(Let them do their investigation. There’s no particular topic, the basis was the hoarding practices that control the supply of onions.)
The President expressed belief that there are a lot of syndicates behind smuggling and hoarding of agricultural products. He reiterated that these illegal practices amount to economic sabotage.
Marcos, who also chairs the Department of Agriculture (DA), on Tuesday ordered the DOJ and the NBI to investigate the smuggling of onions and other agricultural products.
According to the Presidential Communications Office, Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo said in a Memorandum to the President that there was a substantial evidence pointing to the existence of an onion cartel that could be behind the surge in onion prices in 2022.
“I have just given instructions to the DOJ and the NBI to initiate an investigation into the hoarding, smuggling, [and] price fixing of agricultural commodities,” Marcos said in a video message.
The DOJ on Tuesday announced the creation of Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force, which will include the Bureau of Customs and the DA.
Among the members of the task force will be The Office of the Prosecutor General, headed by Chief State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon, and the NBI, headed by Director Medardo De Lemos.
The DOJ also said it will form a special team of prosecutors “primarily focused on protecting the entire agricultural sector, not only the onion industry.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged Malacañang to ensure monitoring of the implementation of the anti-agricultural smuggling order in the lower ranks.
“I congratulate the [President] for his order to crack down on smuggling , [especially] of [agricultural] products. But the [Office of the President] and the entire Malacañang must monitor if the lower ranks are seriously implementing the President’s orders,” Pimentel said.
The Senate had conducted several probes into the smuggling of agricultural products in the country, including the controversial “sugar fiascos” in the past year. —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Marcos: No deadline for agriculture smuggling probe
Source: Balita News
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