Abono: Help fight smuggling

by Virgilio Sar. Maganes

ROSALES- Abono Partylist Chair Rosendo O. So,) said smuggling is the worst enemy of our country’s economy as smugglers do not pay taxes that could be used to fund basic services and needs of the people.
“Thus smuggling must be stopped, but it can be stopped only if the people will cooperate. Thus we urge them to help us fight smuggling,” So said.

The most affected by smuggling is the agriculture sector, which contributes 35% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), So, also president of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), said.
GDP is the market value of all officially recognized final goods and services produced within a country in a year, or other given period of time. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country’s standard of living.
The Philippines’ GDP in 2013 was 7.2 percent, higher than the government’s expectations of 6 percent to 7 percent with agriculture and service sectors as factors to its growth, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported.
But the agriculture sector, according to So, has suffered setbacks also in the past years due to rampant smuggling of agricultural products particularly pork and rice.
“The Abono Partylist has fought pork smuggling for the past three years. In 2012, live weight price of hog went down to P85 per kilo. With our fight against smuggling, it went up to P115 per kilo,” he said.

But the fight against smuggling of agricultural products has not ended.
“Rice smuggling in the country has intensified since last year. Smuggled rice totalled 16 million cavans last year. We also fought this one. Through our fight, big time rice smugglers have been identified, ” So said.
In 2013, the price of palay went down to P14 per kilo. In March that year, farmers from Isabela, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan called the attention of Abono Partylist because the smuggled rice that came from Cebu, Davao and Cagayan De Oro (City) reached Pangasinan and the northern provinces of Luzon.

“With our exposes last June, July and August last year, we were able to stop the shipment of smuggled rice in our country. This was confiscated by the personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BoC),” So further said.

With confiscation of smuggled rice, price per kilo of palay went up to P22, thus the farmers’ income and profits have also increased.
” We could stop smuggling if only the people will cooperate. We urge them to help us fight smuggling in our country,” So said.