Speaker Martin Romualdez said the House of Representatives will fast-track the passage of one of the key priority measures of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. meant to tighten the noose against smugglers of onion and other agricultural products.
“As soon as the start of the 2nd Regular Session of the 19th Congress, we will immediately buckle down to work for the passage of the proposed amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act,” Romualdez said.
The measure is among the 20 bills slated for approval by Congress before the year ends which were identified during the 2nd Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) full meeting presided over by Marcos in Malacanang.
“The inclusion of this measure among the LEDAC priority legislation manifests the commitment of Congress to support Pres. Marcos’ drive against unfair business practices that hurt consumers and local farmers alike, but also derail the administration’s efforts to attain food security,” the veteran legislator said.
“Enactment of this measure will institutionalize and improve mechanisms, as well as provide more stringent penalties that would serve as a strong deterrent against smuggling of agricultural products, including onion.”
“Enactment of this measure will institutionalize and improve mechanisms, as well as provide more stringent penalties that would serve as a strong deterrent against smuggling of agricultural products, including onion,” the seasoned lawmaker added.
Marcos earlier ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to go after smugglers of onion and other agricultural products, based largely on the findings of the probe conducted by the House Committee on Agriculture and Food.
Last May, during a hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, Marikina 2nd District Representative Stella Luz Quimbo tagged a cartel, operating through a web of companies, as the culprit that manipulated the supply and prices of onion.
In December last year, prices of onion hit a record-high of about P700 per kilo.
It was Romualdez himself who called for the congressional investigation on alleged hoarding, price fixing, and smuggling of onion when the prices of the agricultural commodity hit a record-high of about P700 per kilo in December last year.
Other measures LEDAC approved for passage by the year’s end include the Amendments of the BOT Law/PPP bill, National Disease Prevention Management Authority, Internet Transactions Act/E-Commerce Law, Health Emergency Auxiliary Reinforcement Team (Heart) Act, formerly Medical Reserve Corps, Virology Institute of the Philippines, Mandatory ROTC and NSTP, Revitalizing the Salt Industry, Valuation Reform, E-Government/E-Governance, and Ease of Paying Taxes.
Also targeted for passage this year are the National Government Rightsizing Program, Unified System of Separation/Retirement and Pension of MUPs, LGU Income Classification, Waste-to-Energy bill, New Philippine Passport Act, Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, National Employment Action Plan, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-endorsed Bank Deposit Secrecy, and, Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) bills.
18 of the 20 bills were part of the 42 priority legislative measures during the first LEDAC meeting in October 2022. The two BSP-endorsed measures were added to the LEDAC priority list during the recent meeting.
The House has already approved on the third and final reading 33 out of the original 42 LEDAC priority measures by the end of the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress.
