NAGPALABAS ang Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform kung saan chairperson si Senator Cynthia A. Villar ng Committee Report kaugnay sa tumaas na presyo ng sibuyas at nagrekomenda ng mga hakbang laban sa agricultural smuggling sa bansa.

Ipinanukala ang pagbuo ng Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force at special court para tutukan smuggling ng agricultural products bunsod ng pagtaas ng presyo ng sibuyas kamakailan lamang.

Isasailalim ang anti-agricultural smuggling task force sa Office of President at pangangalagaan nito hindi lamang ang industriang sibuyas kundi ang buong sektor ng agrikuktura.

“And to give the Task Force the muscle to bring these smugglers, profiteers, and hoarders to justice, a Special Court was proposed to be created to specifically try and hear economic sabotage cases with a Special Team of Prosecutors to assist the Task Force in the expeditious prosecution,” ani Villar.

“It is high-time that we have an Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Task Force and Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Court. With these in place, we will have a watchdog in the agricultural sector to ensure that whoever manipulates the price of agricultural commodities to the detriment of the small farmers and consumers, will be brought to justice accordingly,” dagdag pa niya.

Pinakamahal ang sibuyas sa Pilipinas nang tumaas ang presyo nito simula October 2022 at umabot sa P750 kada kilo noong Kapaskuhan. Binusisi ito ng komite simula January 16, 2022.

Sa pagdinig, natuklasang binili ang sibuyas na ibinebenta ng P700-P750 sa mga magsasaka ng Occidental Mindoro na binayaran lamang ng P8- P15/ kilo noong panahon ng anihan.

Nabisto rin ang mga kartel na nagtatakda ng mataas na presyo. Itinago ng hoarders ang sibuyas sa cold storage facilities at nagka-price manipulation.

Bilang tugon sa smuggling,inilabas ang Committee Report No. 25. Kabilang dito ang amendment sa Republic Act No. 10845 o Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016 para gawing economic sabotage ang profiteering, hoarding at cartel.

“I will make the amendment to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act to be explicit and very specific so that there will be no room for the implementors to interpret the intent and spirit of the law through the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). We will include hoarding, profiteering, and engaging in cartel, as forms of economic sabotage, and we will also increase the penalty under this law.”

Muli rin niyang binanggit ang digitalization ng customs transaction sa pagpapatupad ng National Single Window sa ilalim ng Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act.