‘Untouchables’ Smuggling Agri Goods With Toxic Chemicals

Smuggled vegetables, fruits and other agricultural produce brought into the country by “untouchables” in government and openly sold in wet markets and supermarkets are sprayed with toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, a Senate inquiry bared on Monday, March 28.

The Senate Committee of the Whole resumed its investigation into unabated large-scale smuggling of vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and other produce that some stakeholders said worsened under the current administration and could be part of an election fundraiser.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines party-list Rep. Rico Geron warned the smuggled produce and meats, mostly sourced from China, have suspiciously long shelf life and have not been screened and tested by local authorities.

Among the chemicals sprayed on the smuggled produce is formaldehyde, a carcinogen used in some building materials, mortuaries and household cleaning agents.

Officials from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the importation of vegetables remains prohibited while the entry of certain fruits, fish and meat is supposedly controlled.

This means all “imported” vegetables sold in wet markets, sidewalks and supermarkets are considered illegal or “contraband,” Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said, adding that smugglers are brazen because they have protection.

BOC officials said the smugglers often use or work around existing rules and procedures to bring in the produce through misdeclaration, underdeclaration and technical smuggling.

Senators also noted during the hearing that officials from the Department of Trade and Industry, DA and BOC kept pointing at each other on which agency should be held accountable.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan warned that “untouchables” behind the continuing large-scale smuggling are making farmers and fisherfolk poorer.

“There are untouchables that have strong connections and they don’t want to run after them. That’s how I see it… maybe they’re too close to the seat of power that’s why we’re in this situation,” he said.

Hunger

Meanwhile, Malacañang has attributed the decrease in the number of Filipino families who experienced hunger to President Duterte’s creation of an inter-agency task force on “zero hunger” through Executive Order 101 in January 2020.

Acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar was referring to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from Dec. 12 to 16, 2021 and released last week, showing 11.8 percent of families experienced having nothing to eat at least once. This, he said, was lower compared to the 16 percent registered in the last quarter of 2020.

“We consider the recent SWS figure a clear indication of the positive impact of the programs of the Inter-Agency Task force on Zero Hunger. We have done much during this challenging time but we underscore that much more needs to be done to continuously address hunger and poverty,” Andanar said.

SWS, however, said the 11.8 percent hunger rate in December 2021 was 1.8 points above the 10 percent or an estimated 2.5 million families that experienced hunger in September 2021. – With Helen Flores