Ni NOEL ABUEL
Bilang na ang araw ng mga smugglers, profiteers, hoarders at cartels ng agricultural at fishery products kasunod ng pagpasa sa ikatlong at huling pagbasa ng panukalang Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.
Sa botong 18-0-0, sinang-ayunan ng mga senador ang Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2432 o ang Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act na nagpapawalang-bisa sa Republic Act No. 10845 o ang Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.
Una nang sinertipikahan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na urgent ang nasabing panukalang batas dahil na rin sa patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng agricultural products bunga ng hoarding, smuggling at iba pang iligal na gawain.
“The bill defines the crime of agricultural economic sabotage as any act or activity that disrupts the economy by creating artificial shortage, promoting excessive importation, manipulating prices and supply, evading payment or underpaying tariffs and customs duties, threatening local production and food security, gaining excessive or exorbitant profits by exploiting situations, creating scarcity, and entering into agreements that defeat fair competition to the prejudice of the public,” pahayag ni Senador Cynthia Villar, chairperson ng Senate committee on food and agriculture.
Sinabi pa ni Villar na mas mahigpit na parusa ang ipapataw upang maiwasan ang smuggling at abusive market practices.
Ang mga sakop ng panukala na agricultural at fishery products ay ang bigas, mais, baka, baboy, manok, bawang, sibuyas, carrots, mga gulay, prutas, isda, asin at iba pang aquatic products.
“Under the bill, the crime of agricultural smuggling as economic sabotage is committed when the value of each, or a combination of agricultural and fishery products smuggled by a person is at least P3 million using the daily price index computed at the time the crime was committed,” sabi pa ni Villar.
“Agricultural smuggling as used in this measure shall be committed through any of the following acts:
(a) Importing or bringing into the Philippines agricultural and fishery products without the required import clearance from the regulatory agencies;
(b) Using import clearance of persons other than those specifically named in the permit;
(c) Using fake, false, fictitious or fraudulent import clearance, shipping documents or any other transport documentation;
(d) Selling, lending, leasing, assigning, consenting to or allowing the use of import clearance of corporations, non-government organizations, associations, cooperatives, partnerships, or single proprietorships by other persons;
(e) Misclassification, undervaluation or misdeclaration upon the filing of import entry declaration or transport documentation with the Bureau of Customs in order to evade the payment of correct taxes and duties due the government;
(f) Organizing or using dummy corporations, non-government organizations, associations, cooperatives, partnerships, or single proprietorships for the purpose of acquiring import clearance;
(g) Knowingly transporting or storing smuggled agricultural and fishery products;
(h) Acting as a broker of the importer; or
(i) Allowing the use of a private port, fish port, fish landing site, resort, and/or airport to perpetrate economic sabotage,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa Agricultural hoarding bilang economic sabotage, kasama ang mga itinatambak at itinatago ang agricultural at fishery products na lagpas sa 30 percent ng kanilang normal inventory level dalawang linggo matapos magdeklara ng abnormal situation.
Ang agricultural profiteering bilang economic sabotage ay ang pagbebenta ng agricultural at fishery products ng 10 percent sa price index nito,
“There shall be prima facie engagement in cartel as economic sabotage through any agreement between two or more persons competing for the same market and dealing in the same agricultural and fishery products to perform uniform, simultaneous, or complementary acts among themselves and actually perform such acts designed to artificially and unreasonably increase or manipulate the supply or prices of such products, thereby stifling competition, as defined in Section 14 of Republic Act No. 10667 or the Philippine Competition Act,” base sa inaprubahang panukala.
“The penalty of life imprisonment and a fine thrice the value of the agricultural and fishery products subject of the crime shall be imposed on any person who commits agricultural smuggling, agricultural hoarding, agricultural profiteering and engaging in cartel,” dagdag pa nito.
Ipinagbabawal din sa panukala ang pagpondo sa agricultural economic sabotage crimes na may parusang life imprisonment.
OnlineBalita news 