Cases filed vs ‘sugar smugglers’
ARANKING official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said that cases of smuggling were filed against the captain and crew of M/V Sunward following the confiscation of P400 million worth of smuggled sugar in Batangas.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement James Layug said that among those charged for violation of Republic Act (RA) 10845 or the “Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016” at the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Batangas City were the captain and ship’s crew, which consists of one Filipino, six Indonesians and seven Chinese.
Layug did not name the 15 individuals who were charged for large-scale agricultural smuggling. Under RA 10845, largescale agricultural smuggling falls under economic sabotage if the amount involved reaches at least P1 million.
According to Layug, M/V Sunward was intercepted during the joint operation of the DA, the Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the Philippine Coast Guard on Jan. 13, 2023, where at least 4,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar from Thailand were discovered.
Layug said the smuggled sugar was consigned to Stone International Co., Ltd.
He added that the captain and crew of M/V Sunward claimed that the sea vessel was bound for Taiwan.
“Based on the data from the National Coast Watch Center, the contraband was en route to Batangas and that their automatic identification system transponder had been turned off within the Spratly Islands,” Layug said.
Layug added that the shipment lacked the import permit issued by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and the notice of arrival from the BoC.
Acting SRA administrator David Alba has recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to authorize the sale of confiscated smuggled sugar at the Kadiwa stores.
PH to import sugar
On a related development, the SRA Board officially issued Sugar Order 6 on the importation of 440,000 MT of refined sugar.
Sugar Order 6 was received by the University of the Philippines Law Center on Feb. 15, 2023, and will take effect after three days.
Marcos was not a signatory to the Sugar Order 6. Aside from Alba, among the signatories were Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, SRA acting board member and miller’s representative Ma. Mitzi Mangwag and SRA acting board member and planters representative Pablo Luis Azcona.
Based on the sugar order, 200,000 MT of imported sugar will be allocated to consumers and 240,000 MT of imported sugar will be used for buffer stock, and will be released to the market upon approval of the SRA Board.
Marcos has ordered concerned officials to ensure a two-month buffer stock of sugar in the country.
According to Sugar Order 6, at least 100,000 MT of imported sugar should arrive as soon as possible.
“For the second arrival of refined sugar, 100,000 MT will arrive before April 1, 2023. For the buffer stock of refined sugar, 240,000 MT should arrive not earlier than April 1, 2023,” Sugar Order 6 stated.
The sugar order added that the buffer stock of refined sugar will not be made available to the domestic market unless approved for release by the SRA Board.
“Only after approval from the SRA Board has been obtained can the stocks be released from the SRA registered warehouses or from the vessel, for sale to the domestic market,” Sugar Order 6 added.
Prices to go down
Azcona has said that the price of sugar is expected to go down to P85 per kilo once the 440,000 MT of imported sweetener arrive in the country.
At the same time, Azcona said that while the government’s resort to importation, efforts are also being done to help the sugar farmers.
“The sugar import aims to help lower the consumer price but at the same time making sure farmers get a fair price so that they can continue planting and hopefully expand their farms for us to be self-sufficient on sugar,” Azcona added.
Sugar farmers’ group United Sugar Producers Federation president Manuel Lamata backed the sugar importation as he expressed relief that the DA rejected the request of the soft drinks manufacturers to get a portion of the sugar imports.
“They (soft drinks manufacturers) were not allowed, which I totally agree with. They are not producers or consumers. They are manufacturers. Imagine they want to import cheap sugar and make soft drinks and sell it to us [at] very expensive [price],” Lamata said.
Lamata added that soft drinks manufacturers should buy from the local market.
According to Lamata, the arrival of the sugar imports will end the speculations on the possible shortage of the sweeteners at the end of the year, causing the increase in the retail prices.
“This is acceptable to us. It will end the speculations of traders that’s driving the high retail prices. We expect sugar to go down with the arrival of fresh imports,” he added.
Based on the monitoring of the DA in the local markets, the retail price of refined sugar ranged between P87 and P110 per kilo; washed sugar, between P80 and P95 per kilo; and brown sugar, between P80 and P95 per kilo.
Crackdown vs smugglers
Meanwhile, Malacañang said on Friday that President Marcos is bent on running after the brains behind the smuggling of sugar in the country as the government intensified its crackdown against smugglers.
“Under the revitalized anti-smuggling campaign of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Department of Agriculture-Office of the Assistant Secretary for DA Inspectorate and Enforcement formally filed agricultural smuggling cases against the captain and crew of the M/V Sunward on February 9 after a joint inspection of the vessel last month yielded P400M worth of smuggled sugar,” Malacañang said, quoting a statement from the DA.
On January 12, the President sought the help of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) in the government’s fight against rampant smuggling in the country.
During his meeting with PSAC, Marcos lamented that the present system is “not working” despite government efforts to curb smuggling.
One of the recommendations of the PSAC is for the government to make the database of the BoC and the DA accessible to ensure the efficient sharing of information.
The President also cited “issues [hampering the] ease of doing business” as well as “inefficiency in the country’s airports and seaports” as among the complaints raised by the business sector.
“Concerned agencies have to be more innovative [and] the government has to delineate functions or establish new agencies if necessary to be effective,” Marcos said.
The government loses at least P250 billion in revenues a year due to smuggling, according to an estimate made last month by Jesus Arranza, chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and head of the group’s anti-smuggling committee.
Smuggling has been a recurring economic issue in the country for decades, Arranza said, citing the illegal entry not only of agricultural products but also luxury goods like clothes, food, and even cars.