THE SENATE approved and ratified on Tuesday the bicameral conference committee report on an amendment stiffening the penalties on smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products.
At a plenary session, Senator Cynthia A. Villar, who filed the Senate version of the bill, said the harmonization of Senate Bill No. 2432 and House Bill No. 9284 resulted in the inclusion of the Department of Finance in the Anti-Agriculture Economic Sabotage Enforcement Group, to be implemented when the measure becomes law.
“The reason for this is to prevent connivance between smugglers and employers of the Bureau of Customs,” she said.
“The problematic system within the Bureau of Customs is one of the reasons why RA 10845 or the original Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law… proved to be inadequate.”
The Senate approved the measure on final reading on Dec. 11, while the House of Representatives passed its counterpart bill on Sept. 27.
The bill will lower the threshold on instances of smuggled agriculture and fishery products to P1 million from P10 million for the violation to be classified as an act of economic sabotage.
Violators could face life imprisonment and a fine of thrice the value of agricultural and fishery products smuggled.
The government has been foregoing at least P200 billion in revenue each year to smuggling, Ms. Villar has said, citing government estimates.
Later Tuesday, the House of Representatives also ratified the bicameral conference committee report by voice vote. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
