THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said prosecutions for economic sabotage are going slowly, blunting the law’s deterrent effect.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in a statement submitted to a Senate hearing that the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Council has been slow to act.
“You have all the information to find cases of economic sabotage. Why is nothing happening? The President himself said so six, nine months ago,” Mr. Laurel told the Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform.
He said in light of the dearth of prosecutions, he is seeking greater powers for the DA to initiate smuggling prosecutions on its own.
The Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act (Republic Act 12022) defines economic sabotage as a separate crime if the value of smuggled farm goods exceeds P10 million.
Mr. Laurel called economic sabotage prosecutions “low-hanging fruit” and described the attention being paid to the National Single Window — a streamlined trade permit processing portal — as misdirected in light of three pending cases involving shipments to Subic, Baco, Oriental Mindoro and Talisay, Cebu, which is the site of one of the province’s container terminals.
“When will these be charged. Because we can discuss everything… — fix this, fix that, but it’s been ten (months),” he said.
He added that the Philippine Coast Guard has adequate powers to initiate smuggling prosecutions but has not exercised them.
“We have three cases, can we just get an update? For the Coast Guard, my understanding is that the Coast Guard is you are part of the council. You have the power, you can file a case.”
Separately, the DA said in a statement that the DA’s Inspectorate and Enforcement office conducted 182 anti-smuggling operations between January 2024 and July 2025, leading to the confiscation of P3.78 billion worth of agricultural and fishery products.
In 2024, it tallied P2.8 billion worth of seizures of smuggled products. This year so far, 111 operations were conducted yielding P953 million worth of seizures.
“We’ve blacklisted 20 importers under my watch — 13 of whom were operating without licenses,” Mr. Laurel said.
Mr. Laurel called RA 12022 “a step in the right direction, but without enforcement powers, our hands are tied. We cannot fully protect our farmers and fisherfolk.” — Andre Christopher H. Alampay