MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Francis Pangilinan proposed the overhaul of importation procedures to curb smuggling of agricultural and food products, and oil, vehicles, and electronics, which cost the government an estimated revenue loss of P200 billion this year.
Pangilinan was reacting to figures released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in June that showed the projected revenue loss from smuggling could reach P200 billion this year.
“P200 billion is no joke,” said Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food.
“We are losing out on a very large source of taxes and revenue that could otherwise go to infrastructure, social services, and income for our farmers and fisherfolk because of smuggling and corruption,” Pangilinan said.
He said there could be some serious flaws in the system that offers unscrupulous elements opportunities for corruption.
“If the procedures are efficient, we should see less opportunities, and therefore less cases of smuggling and corruption, if none at all,” he added.
He made the statement as the Senate starts on Wednesday an investigation on the rampant smuggling of rice and other food products into the country, with the Committee on Agriculture and Food as the lead investigating panel.
Pangilinan had called on the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to intensify the drive against “rampant smuggling of agricultural products” by making transparent the importation information contained in the Inward Foreign Manifest (IFM).
The IFM is a list containing details about the products being imported into the Philippines, such as the importer’s name, the source country, the shipping vessel, and the date of arrival. Currently, only the Bureau of Customs has access to this information, making it easy for unscrupulous parties within the agency to get involved in smuggling.
The Alyansa ng Agrikultura, a coalition of 42 federations and organizations representing all major agricultural sectors, has been advocating the automatic transmittal of the IFM from the Bureau of Customs to the Department of Agriculture.
The practice was done for a few years, but ended in 2009. – With Paolo Romero