A farmers’ group on Monday stated promoting seized smuggled sugar at Kadiwa facilities is akin to selling illegally imported items.
“If you promote smuggled goods, this will not help the farmers,” Rosendo O. So, the president of Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura or SINAG, stated in a telephone interview.
The essence of Kadiwa, he stated, is to assist promote farmers’ merchandise on to customers.
The authorities has determined to promote not less than 12,000 metric tons of seized smuggled sugar at Kadiwa shops.
The Department of Agriculture runs the Kadiwa shops, which sells produce at decrease costs.
Destroying the fruits of prison actions is “easy to implement” for inanimate objects equivalent to automobiles, however will get difficult with consumable merchandise like sugar, in keeping with Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a lawyer and political analyst.
“I understand the thinking that basic food items should be preserved rather than destroyed given the current food challenges many Filipinos are facing,” he stated in a message on Facebook.
“If this is going to be pursued by this admin, then two acts must be done,” he stated. “First, the President should issue an executive order to cover this directive. Second, the order should be clear as to the timeline and the intended beneficiaries.”
Mr. Yusingco added that the “right alternative” is to present the seized merchandise to individuals who want them or can not afford to purchase them.
“Smuggled goods cannot solve inflation,” SINAG’s Mr. So stated, nonetheless. “The total volume is not so big that it will influence inflation.”
Mr. So additionally stated that the long-term technique for minimizing smuggling is to strengthen the nation’s first-border management.
“The first-border facility should test all cargo coming, which we are not doing,” he stated in a telephone message.
Smuggled items are a well being concern too, stated James A. Layug, DA’s assistant secretary for inspectorate and enforcement.
“Mas importante ay ‘yung food safety issue. Hindi ito dumaan sa tamang proseso. Hindi ho na-inspect o nabigyan ng sanitary phytosanitary clearance (The food safety issue is more important. This is not undergoing the right process. It’s not inspected nor given sanitary phytosanitary clearance),” state-run Philippine News Agency quoted him as saying on March 20.
“Kung ikaw consumer, hindi mo naman na titingnan saan galing ito, titingnan mo kung mura (If you’re the consumer, you will no longer check where it came from. You will just look for cheaper prices),” Mr. Layug stated.
A 2022 research from Economist Impact, “Illicit Trade: Scale, Scope and Flows,” reported that figuring out illicit items is problematic, with over 77% of survey respondents struggling to differentiate between real and counterfeit merchandise.
It additionally discovered that 53% of respondents within the Philippines stated it’s acceptable to purchase merchandise that serve an individual’s wants, no matter whether or not they’re licit or illicit. — Patricia B. Mirasol
