Seized mackerel is 1st case under Agri Economic Sabotage Act

The government will have its first case of agricultural economic sabotage under Republic Act 12022 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act against smugglers of P178.5 million worth of frozen mackerel seized by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in October, President Marcos said yesterday.

- By HELEN FLORES

Marcos made the declaration as he inspected 21 container vans of the confiscated shipment at the Port Area in Manila, and later led the donation of the goods to poor residents in Tondo.

"As I said, this is the first case under the new law of the Anti-Agricultural Sabotage Act. So, I've spoken to our Bureau of Customs and I've spoken to the Department of Agriculture and we have to keep going. We have to intensify it," Marcos told reporters following the inspection. No other information, like the names of the importer or consignee, was given.

Signed by Marcos last Sept. 26, RA 12022 seeks to protect farmers, fisherfolk and consumers by defining and penalizing crimes related to agricultural economic sabotage like smuggling, hoarding, profiteering and cartel activities.

In signing the measure, Marcos cited the "staggering" loss of more than P3 billion to agricultural smuggling in 2023 alone.

RA 12022 repealed RA 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.

Marcos had noted that smuggling, hoarding, profiteering and cartel operations involving agricultural and fishery products would be classified as economic sabotage - a nonbailable offense punishable by life imprisonment and fines of up to five times the value of the goods involved.

Under RA 12022, the Court of Tax Appeals shall have exclusive jurisdiction over cases related to agricultural economic sabotage and shall have the authority to handle and decide on criminal proceedings.

The frozen mackerel shipments, which came from China, were seized on Sept. 28 and 29 at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).