During the House Committee on Agriculture and Food (CAF) Hearing on May 31, 2022 members of the legislative branch, national government agencies (NGAs), and the private sector sought to investigate the implementation status of border inspection and food safety regulations, state of first border inspection facilities, and the country’s capacity to curb agricultural smuggling, as urged by the House Resolution No. 2282.
The resolution was authored by Representative Argel Joseph Cabatbat following consecutive reports by local farmers, traders, and organizations regarding the sale of smuggled vegetables from China in various markets, with Benguet farmers stating that the practice started way back in 2007.
Following his two-pronged approach against agricultural smuggling, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar reiterated the need to strengthen border inspections and the need to create an interoperable digital system of recording the entry of goods, to be used in collaborative measures among implementing agencies of the Food Safety Act. ###
