Sec. Manny Piñol declared an all-out campaign against criminal activity particularly the rampant smuggling of meat, agriculture and fisheries products using fake or fraudulent importation. permits.
According to the DA Secretary the problem did not only deprives government with taxes but also works against the interest of the Filipino farmers and fisher folks.
The head of the DA, Sec. Piñol signed an order which effectively cancelled all previously issued permits covering the importation of all meat, agriculture and fisheries products. Copies of the order will be forwarded to Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and all other offices involved.
Here’s the Complete Statement of DA Sec. Manny Piñol:
Combatting smuggling
DA CANCELS OLD
IMPORT PERMITS
By Manny Piñol
Faced with the problem of rampant smuggling of meat, agriculture and
fisheries products using fake or fraudulent importation permits, I have
declared an all-out campaign against the criminal activity which not
only deprives government with taxes but also works against the interest
of the Filipino farmers and fisher folks.
Late yesterday, I
signed an order which effectively cancelled all previously issued
permits covering the importation of all meat, agriculture and fisheries
products.
Copies of the order will be forwarded to Customs
Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and all other offices involved in the
importation of agricultural and fisheries products.
This means
that all the importation permits now in the hands of both legitimate and
unscrupulous individuals are effectively just a worthless piece of
paper unless validated and marked as authentic by a “fresh” team of DA
inspectors organised only last night.
As of last count, an estimated 1,700 import permits are believed to have been issued through on-line application.
Starting today, special teams from the Dept. of Agriculture will be
dispatched to the Manila Container Integrated Port (MCIP) in South
Harbor and the Manila International Airports to make sure that the old
import permits are validated before the imported shipments will be
allowed to be released from the MCIP, the NAIA or other ports of entry.
Last night before I left for a long land trip to Laoag City for today’s
Organic Agriculture Summit, I also issued a directive addressed to the
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and
the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources that their role in the
issuance of the import permits would henceforth be only recommendatory.
It will be the Secretary of Agriculture himself or the Chief of Staff,
Undersecretary Francisco Villano, Jr., who will sign and approve the
import permits.
I have to undertake these drastic measures in the
face of the seeming helplessness of the Dept. of Agriculture in
stopping the smuggling of agriculture and fisheries products.
With the onset of the Christmas season when the demand for these
products is at its peak, reports of the use of recycled Importation
Permits, Technical Smuggling of Pork which are declared as Offals and
the entry of chicken from dubious sources have once again reached the
DA.
Those holding valid import permits could go to the Office of
the Secretary for the authentication and validation of their documents
ahead of the arrival of their importation so as not to suffer any delay
in the release of their shipments.
Those whose shipments will be
arriving today or anytime before the weekend will have to show their
documents to the new inspectorate team in the MCIP supervised by retired
police colonel Romy Taroy.
The DA has formed a new team composed
of representatives of BPI, BFAR and BAI who will be assigned directly
under the Office of the Secretary who will accept and process
applications for new import permits and also the validation of old
permits.
They will work even on Saturdays and Sundays.
Starting December 1, the DA will be issuing new import permits using
security papers signed by the DA Secretary or the Chief of Staff.
I offer apologies for any inconvenience this measure might cause on law
abiding importers but I hope they will understand that I have to do
this to protect the interest of government, the farmers and fisher folks
and the legitimate importers.
The smuggling of agriculture and fisheries products has to end now.
Source: Manny Piñol FB Page
