A party-list lawmaker on Saturday backed the planned involvement of Congress in the campaign against agricultural smuggling this year, saying all sectors of government should join it “and put a stop to the sordid practice.”
“It’s high time that Congress, through its powers of legislation and oversight, gets involved in the fight before things get totally out of control,” said AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee said.
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the ways and means committee vowed earlier that Congress, through an independent panel, would wage a battle against agricultural smugglers “who for a long time now have contributed to the deterioration of local farm industries and manipulating market prices.”
“For this reason, I will be asking an independent panel such as the Institute for Solidarity in Asia to see what changes we can further bring to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to tighten agricultural smuggling enforcement,” Salceda said.
Lee, who hails from Sorsogon, said he would fully support his fellow Bicolano in his efforts.
“This is an issue that transcends the divisions in Congress. Sa harap ng ganito kalaki at katalamak na problema, kailangang sama-sama tayong umaaksyon,” Lee said.
“Congress can make some headway in this regard to make these criminals accountable,” he added.
The lawmaker also underscored the need to capacitate offices tasked with combatting agricultural smuggling so they could fulfill their tasks properly.