Some P34 million worth of smuggled onions and mackerel were seized at the Port of Manila by government agents following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to intensify campaign against smuggling.

In a joint operation, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday intercepted six container vans from China carrying misdeclared imported onions and mackerel, potentially serving as a test case for the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act that President Marcos signed last year.

“Alinsunod ito sa direktiba ng Pangulo na paigtingin pa ang kampanya kontra smugglers at mga illegal na produktong sumisira sa ekonomiya at kalusugan ng bansa,” Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said during a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.

The DA said the intercepted shipments were declared as egg noodles, spring rolls, and dumplings.

Upon joint inspection, three of the six 40-foot containers were found to hold fresh red onions valued at around PhP10.3 million.

One container held yellow onions worth PhP3.82 million, and two others contained frozen mackerel worth between PhP13 million and PhP20 million, the DA said.

The two onion-loaded vans were consigned to Latinx Consumer Goods Trading, while the four container vans loaded with yellow onions and mackerel were consigned to Lexxa Consumer Goods Trading.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the inspection of the shipping containers with smuggled agricultural products, Castro said.

Violators of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act of 2024 face life imprisonment and a fine amounting to five times the value of the smuggled or hoarded agricultural products.

Under the law, smuggling or hoarding of agricultural commodities is classified as economic sabotage if the value of the goods exceeds PhP10 million. | PND