The House of Representatives unanimously approved on third and final reading a measure that seeks to give more bite to the existing Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, or Republic Act (RA) 10845, by dangling the penalty of life imprisonment to agri-smugglers.
House Bill (HB) No. 9284, or the Anti Agri-Fishery Commodities and Tobacco Economic Sabotage Act, garnered 289 “yes” votes during nominal voting at past midnight Wednesday.
The smuggling of rice and other agricultural products is classified as “economic sabotage” under the measure, a crime punishable by life imprisonment.
“Malapit nang matapos ang mga maliligayang araw ng mga smugglers, hoarders, at ang mga nagca-cartel. Your days are numbered. Once this bill is enacted, we will use its provisions to the fullest in order to prosecute these evil-doers who made our kababayans suffer,” Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said.
Romualdez said the final action on HB 9284 took place alongside the plenary debates on the P5.768-trillion General Appropriations Bill (GAB), or proposed national budget for 2024.
The measure’s full title reads, “An Act declaring large-scale agri-fisheries commodities and tobacco smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, cartelizing, and other acts of market abuse as economic sabotage, amending for the purpose RA 10845, or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016”.
Romualdez, leader of the 311-strong House of Representatives and the fourth highest-ranked official in the land, earlier said he hopes the measure would have a chilling effect on individuals in the agriculture sector, who take advantage of hapless consumers.
“This bill will help realize President Marcos’ aspirations of affordable produce and food self-sufficiency. Its unanimous passage speaks volumes,” said Romualdez, adding that the House remains committed to supporting Marcos’ initiatives as the Department of Agriculture secretary.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food, headed by Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, endorsed for plenary approval the proposed agricultural economic sabotage law. Last week, Speaker Romualdez assured that the measure, part of the 20 bills listed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council for passage this December, will be approved on third and final reading before Congress goes on recess Sept. 30. ||
