Senator Joseph Victor 'JV' Ejercito has filed a bill seeking to amend Republic Act 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.
Under Senate Bill No. 1688 filed on January 17, Ejercito proposed to change the title to "Anti-Agricultural [Smuggling] ECONOMIC SABOTAGE Act of 2023."
He said the large-scale agricultural hoarding, profiteering, and cartel shall be considered "economic sabotage."
Ejercito said this measure would serve as a shield "from the manipulative scheme of economic saboteurs, and to protect the livelihood of our farmers and to ensure their economic well-being and that of consumers."
The Senator is seeking to impose higher penalties for those who commit agri-smuggling and other abuses of market power.
He proposed to punish smugglers with 17 to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of twice the value of the smuggled, profiteered, hoarded, or cartel.
In addition to this, Ejercito wants to aggregate the amount of the taxes, duties, and other charges of the "registered owner and lessee of a warehouse, or any property, who knowingly stores the smuggled, profiteered, hoarded, or cartel-led agricultural product."
Likewise, higher taxes, duties, and chargers shall be charged against "registered owner, lessee, president or chief executive officer of the private port, fish port, fish landing sites, resorts, and airports who knowingly allows the agricultural product to be smuggled into the country, or to be hoarded within their facilities."
The Senator said the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) will promulgate the implementing rules and regulations of the proposed measure.
