Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan has criticized the continued lack of convictions against big-time agricultural smugglers and syndicates, calling it "ghost cases," and comparing them to the notorious ghost flood control projects.
As reported by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas, Pangilinan referred to the smuggling cases of agricultural products as “ghost cases” during the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform hearing on Monday, September 15.
“Tulad ng sa korapsyon sa flood control projects, bilyon-bilyon din ang ninanakaw sa bayan dahil sa smuggling,” said Pangilinan.
He also raised concern over the fact that not a single member of a smuggling syndicate has been convicted in the last nine years.
According to Pangilinan, due to the increasing number of intercepted smuggled agricultural products, any cases that may have been filed seem to have been forgotten over time, which included rice, meat, onions, garlic, fish, and other goods.
Among the mentioned cases that also became ‘ghost cases’ was the operation at a cold storage facility in Kawit, Cavite, in June 2024, where authorities seized smuggled frozen pork belly, peking duck, lapu-lapu, and various hotpot products.
Another operation took place in September 2024 at a cold storage facility in Bulacan, where authorities confiscated items worth P200 million, including beef, chicken, seafood, pigeon meat, and even boxes of rotting onions. However, no arrests were reported against the two individuals who illegally smuggled the products from China.
Similar incidents continue to occur, such as the repeated confiscation of agricultural products at the Subic Bay International Port.
What is even more alarming is the discrepancy between the declared prices with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and those reported by the Bureau of Customs (BOC). Worse, some containers are mysteriously released without proper accountability.
“Mabagal ang pag-usad ng proseso ng paglilitis laban sa kanila,” he said, expressing frustrations over the lack of concrete legal consequences for large-scale agricultural smugglers, despite clear evidence and repeated operations.
He also questioned the continued inaction of authorities, asking when the people behind the billions worth of seized smuggled goods would finally be held accountable. According to him, the government already has custody of the smuggled items, and the names of those involved are already known, yet no one has been imprisoned.
“Bilyong halaga na ang nakumpiska natin na smuggled. Walang mga lisensya. Wala pa tayong nakukulong,” Pangilinan asserted.
