Customs and Customs (BOC) and Department of Agriculture (DA) officers and employees (including clerks and security guards) are required to undergo a thorough lifestyle check.
Rep. Ray Reyes, on the Anakarsugan leader’s list, made the call amid heated public commentary about agricultural smuggling that has skyrocketed the prices of basic commodities like onions.
“The Ombudsman’s office should move and start checking the lifestyles of these people. I was seen working and owning a luxury car.How is that possible?” Reyes asked.
“The rise in prices of agricultural products due to smuggling collusion on the part of the DA shows that a huge syndicate operates within the DA and is behind all this. ,” added the new lawmaker.
The House Ways and Means Committee conducted a basic goods smuggling investigation on Monday, January 23. Research shows that prices of local agricultural products such as onions and sugar are significantly higher than in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Paraguay.
The study also revealed nearly P5 billion in revenue unrecovered due to rampant agricultural smuggling.
“Agricultural smuggling has lost nearly 5 billion pesos of income. It’s time all these people were put through a top-to-bottom lifestyle check. No cows sacred. from the head of the office to the clerks and security guards,” says Reyes.
Agricultural smuggling has become more common amid the Covid-19 pandemic, based on information reports received by the Methods and Measures Panel.
This may indicate an upward trend in imports of unreported agricultural products.
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