4 "players" in agri smuggling named in Senate probe, NICA still validating

Four names of alleged "players" in vegetable smuggling supposedly protected by politicians were floated in a Senate investigation Tuesday.

Citing information from stakeholders, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who presides over the Senate committee of the whole hearing into the proliferation of smuggled vegetables in the Philippine markets, mentioned the names.

"As earlier mentioned, I have been asked by a number of people. I have received a list of “players” or smugglers who are said to be being protected by some government officials...May I know from the National Intelligence Coordinating Authority, the NICA, what information were you able to gather about the following persons and what roles are they allegedly playing in agricultural smuggling?" Sotto asked.

The Senate panel has invited an official from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Sub-Task Group on Economic Intelligence (STG-EI) to verify the information about the said "players" in agricultural smuggling in the country.

NICA director Edsel Batalla, focal person of the STG-EI,  confirmed that the four names mentioned by Sotto were included in their list but the information is still subject for validation as these are all "raw information" from their operations.

"As to the list of players, smuggler that are allegedly enjoying protection from the DA and BOC officials, we do have a list. But again, let me say that this list came from the, was borne out of the operation of the STG-EI and while I may confirm the personality that you mentioned, but still this has to be validated because this are all raw information, including all others that are included in the list," Batalla said.

"And right now, with all due respect, I cannot divulge other names, because I am not in the position to disclose this classified information, this has to be validated, it might cause undue embarrassment to those who are listed," he added.

The NICA official told the senators that the validation process is "quite tedious" as this will require cross-checking with their database.

"If they don’t have any records on our database, we have to check with the intel community and do some investigation on the ground level, Sir," Batalla explained.

Apart from the four names mentioned by Sotto, Batalla said there are more than 20 individuals, including the so-called "protectors", who were on their list.

"You don’t have to mention those who are not in our list, but I’m glad you are validating," Sotto said.

The Senate committee of the whole is investigating the proliferation of smuggled agricultural products in the Philippine market.

The panel is also looking into the issues in the Bureau of Customs that are related to the smuggling of crops.

Political agenda

Meanwhile, ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Eric Go-Yap on Tuesday claimed that the issue of vegetable smuggling in Benguet is being used for political agenda.

The lawmaker, who is also the designated as the caretaker of the congressional district of Benguet, made the remark during the hearing.

Yap was earlier criticized by the League of Association at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas over his "inaction" on the issue of smuggling in the province.

He was also mentioned in the previous hearing as one of the politicians allegedly involved in smuggling.

Attending the Senate probe virtually, Yap told the panel that farmers in Benguet are really struggling due to the continuous arrival of smuggled products in the province, citing his consultations with the local producers and traders.

This, he said, prompted him to urge the Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Customs officials to disclose those allegedly behind the illegal importation of agricultural products.

"Sa pag-iikot ko po doon sa malalayong lugar namin at barangay sa Benguet e talagang nahihirapan ang mga farmers sa smuggling kaya nga po I urged na yung mga taga-DA at yung mga taga-BOC yung mga tumatawag sa kanila na pulitiko para umarbor ng mga smuggled goods, ng mga vegetables baka pwede nilang ilabas," Yap said.

(After my consultations in different parts and barangays in Benguet, I saw that our farmers are really struggling that is why I urged the DA and the BOC to divulge those who are calling them to allow the smuggled goods and vegetables to enter the country.)

"Ang kailangan namin, it is the unity kasi minsan Mr. Chair ang nangyayari sa amin nahahaluan ng politika kaya hindi po namin naso-solve ang vegetable smuggling. Ginagamit po sa pamumulitika  kaya nga po siguro sa pamamagitan nitong committee na ito, kung magkakaisa tayong lahat pati po doon sa aming probinsya, magtulung-tulungan po kami," he added.

(What we need is unity because sometimes the issue is being politicized and that is the reason why we can't solve the problem of vegetable smuggling. This is being used for politics and I hope that through this committee, we can agree to help one another to address the issue in our province.)

Yap also hoped that Agot Balanoy, the public relations officer of the League of Associations at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Areas, is raising her concerns to address the issues confronting the Benguet farmers and not for any political agenda.

"I'm sure po na si Ms. Agot ng trading post e ang kanyang agenda rin po ay yung welfare ng mga farmers at hindi po politika," he said.

(I'm sure Ms. Agot's agenda was to push for the welfare of the farmers and not politics.)

To recall, it was Balanoy who raised in the previous Senate hearing that Yap was mentioned in the "Tara" list or the list of individuals who allegedly received money from the smuggling activities in the BOC, which was exposed by Senator Panfilo Lacson in a privilege speech in 2017.

Responding to Yap's remarks, Balanoy assured the lawmaker that her concerns were not politically-motivated, adding that she has been advocating against vegetable smuggling since 2005.

"Unang-una po (first of all), sir, I'll take this opportunity to assure the honorable caretaker that I [have been] speaking against smuggling for years now. Hindi lang po ngayon at lalong hindi lang po politika ito (I did not raise this issue just now and this is not about politics). I started speaking about smuggling (since) year 2005 pa po," Balanoy said.—AOL, GMA News