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Agri dept says beefing up anti-smuggling push after SONA

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Jervis Manahan, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. looks at products on display as he interacts with sellers during the launch of " Kadiwa="" Ng="" at="" the="" Limay="" Public="" Market="" in="" Bataan="" on="" March="" Jonathan="" ABS-CBN="" News="" PPA="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/news/06/21/20230331-marcos-kadiwa-bataan-jc-0772.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. looks at products on display as he interacts with sellers during the launch of &#x27;Kadiwa Ng Pangulo,&#x27; at the Limay Public Market in Limay, Bataan on March 31, 2023.<em> Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/PPA pool</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Tuesday it will intensify its anti-smuggling efforts following President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.&#x27;s fresh directives in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/07/24/23/industry-group-backs-marcos-staying-as-agri-chief">Industry group backs Marcos staying as Agri chief</a></li></ul><p>Marcos, who currently heads the DA, said during his SONA on Monday that he will go after agricultural smugglers.</p><p>Asked for his reaction, DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban admitted they will need to work harder to address the issue.</p><p>&quot;Hindi pa namin naa-achieve yung 100 percent sa smuggling and that&#x27;s what we&#x27;re at this point in time,&quot; he said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/24/23/marcos-wants-fisheries-cooperative-codes-revised">#SONA2023: Marcos wants fisheries, cooperative codes revised</a></li></ul><p>Panganiban said they have been inspecting cold storage facilities to ensure that importers are compliant with the law.</p><p>Recently, the DA also broke ground for the first cold storage examination facility in Bulacan, which aims to curb smuggling in the country.</p><p>&quot;Matatakot silang mag-smuggle, at mahuhuli sila kasi ang ginagawa namin ngayon iniinspeksyon namin yung lahat ng facilities involved like sa sugar, sibuyas, gulay, and all other products especially mga meat and anywhere,&quot; Panganiban said.</p><p>Asked about how they can stop smuggling of sugar, Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) administrator Pablo Azcona said the efforts of DOJ and NBI will be helpful.<br/> <br/>&quot;This will be a very big help in our industry, mainly because pag tiningnan ang pricing non, yung presyo ng raw sugar sa farmers natin P60 per kilo. You will see the disparity, ang laki ng difference ng farmgate to retail. Usually nabe-blame ang farmer. We don&#x27;t want the farmers to be blamed,&quot; he said.</p><p>Sen. Imee Marcos, for her part, said that the implementation of the Anti-Smuggling Law should be strengthened.</p><p>&quot;Sa palagay ko, wala naman problema yung batas ngayon, may kakulangan lang sa enforcement niya. Kasi kung tutuusin covered naman, yung amendments malaking tulong pero ang kailangan talaga, dakipin, hulihin, at parusahan ang mga nag ismuggle,&quot; Marcos said.</p><p>The three officials headed a distribution of startup capital for sugar block farms at the SRA office on Tuesday.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2732573" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban admitted they need to work harder to curb smuggling.

Agri dept says beefing up anti-smuggling push after SONA

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Agri dept says beefing up anti-smuggling push after SONA

Jervis Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 25, 2023 06:19 PM PHT

|

Updated July 25, 2023 06:22 PM PHT

Read More:

DA

Department of Agriculture

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agriculture

Marcos

SONA

SONA 2023

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State of the Nation Address

smugglers

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