Smugglers and their cohorts will face a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine amounting to twice the fair value of the smuggled agricultural product and the aggregate amount of the taxes, duties and other charges avoided. The BOC appraised the value of the smuggled rice at P20 million and as such it is subject to economic sabotage charges. “Wala pang nakakasuhan ng economic sabotage kaya’t malakas pa rin ang loob ng mga smugglers na ito at tuloy ang kanilang ligaya,” So lamented. The SINAG report also disclosed that rice, with a market value of P94 billion, is the single biggest agricultural commodity being smuggled into the country. The smuggling of agricultural products endangers the agriculture industry which is the very iber of our society.

Source: Manila Times October 26, 2016 17:57 UTC