Lawmakers and state regulators appalled by “shocking” large-scale agricultural smuggling in the Philippines have vowed to impose stricter laws to protect and promote the productivity of the agriculture sector and the farmers and declared the illegal activities as economic sabotage.
The Department of Agriculture, headed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., is pushing for a two-pronged strategy to stop the illegal entry of agricultural products into the country while introducing measures to raise local production. In addition, the DA issued a strong warning against public officials conniving with smugglers and unscrupulous individuals involved in smuggling food products.
In the Senate, Senators Cynthia Villar and JV Ejercito are pitching for the vigorous implementation of the Anti -Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, or Republic Act No. 10845, to declare all individuals involved in smuggling as economic saboteurs.
Our lawmakers and policymakers need not look further for their anti-smuggling campaign. Instead, they should support the project of the Philippine Ports Authority called the Container Monitoring System or the Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System and Empty Container Storage Shared Service Facility.
Originally, the PPA intended the TOP -CRMS to solve the decades-old issue of container deposits that shipping lines charge truckers, forwarders, and even Customs brokers for each container used in cargo shipments. The shipping lines collect from P10,000 to P20,000 and even up to P100,000, in the case of reefers.
Truckers, customs brokers, and forwarders have complained to the PPA about this long-standing issue of unreturned container deposits from the shipping lines. Still, the agency needs the technology to offer to all the stakeholders.
Indeed, the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc., with 14,000 members nationwide and the largest and only recognized customs brokers group by the Professional Regulatory Board, is praising the PPA’s container monitoring program because it will save them a lot of money.
The TOP-CRMS, although not intended as an anti-smuggling system, can eliminate cargo diversion, a favorite scheme by smugglers to divert their shipment to another warehouse, and other smuggling schemes.
The solution offered by the technology provides transparency and accountability regarding cargo movement because the containers will be tracked in real-time. And with real-time container tracking, law enforcement agencies can quickly identify where the shipment is delivered and when, thus, eliminating fake or “for hire consignees.” The TOP-CRMS will monitor all foreign-owned shipping containers – both laden and empty.
The technology will also make it easy for investigators to identify and prosecute suspected smugglers.
The project may also address national security by preventing the movement of cargoes involved in terrorism, smuggling of drugs, etc., which is more important now than ever.
Take, for example, one of the biggest shabu smuggling haul in 2017 involving an estimated P6.4-billion shipment of illegal drugs that saw the indictment of nine persons, including Chinese businessman Chen Julong, alias Richard Tan, and customs broker Mark Taguba, for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariffs Act.
In addition, a ranking Customs official has taxied the alleged top Big 3 smugglers in the Bureau of Customs as “Big Mama,” “Ma’am T,” and “Mr.”
These unscrupulous individuals oppose programs like container monitoring because their shipments can now be tracked in real-time, preventing them from engaging in illegal activities.
Suppose the government and our legislators are bent on stopping smuggling operations in the country. In that case, programs like the container monitoring of the PPA should be given full backing and support as it can provide them the ammunition to end and win the war against smuggling operations.