MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tasked Agriculture officials to coordinate with the Bureau of Customs and the legislative branch to curb vegetable smuggling and the illegal importation of other agricultural products, the agency said.

Marcos, who also heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), gave the directive during a meeting at the agency's main office in Quezon City earlier this week.

“On the issue of vegetable smuggling and illegal importation of other agriculture products, the President also directed that the country’s system of importation should be fixed in coordination with the Bureau of Customs, the House of Representatives, and the Senate,” the DA said in a statement on Tuesday.

• Marcos urged to prioritize solving corruption at Customs, agri-smuggling
• P1.5 bilyong halaga ng smuggled goods kumpiskado sa Valenzuela

“We need an immediate plan to ensure that our food supply and the food prices are within reach of ordinary Filipinos from now until the end of the year,” the President said, as quoted by the agency.

Last month, the Bureau of Customs said it was coordinating with the DA to remove smuggled items from the market.

The 2 agencies deployed personnel to wet markets to check for illegally imported agricultural products , Customs spokesperson Vincent Philip Maronilla said in an earlier press conference.

• 2 Customs officials deny involvement in agri smuggling

Since 2016, the BOC has filed 103 criminal complaints against importers and brokers for illegally shipping agricultural products to the Philippines, the agency said in a statement in March.

The government has confiscated P1.99 billion worth of smuggled agricultural goods since 2019, Customs said.

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