DA: First border facilities operational by next year

MANILA, Philippines — The long wait for the country’s strengthened border protection could be over soon as the Department of Agriculture (DA) vowed to make the government’s first border facilities operational by the third quarter next year.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the three cold examination facility in agriculture (CEFA) would come online by September next year.

The three CEFAs would be located in the ports of Manila, Subic in Clark and General Santos in Mindanao, the agriculture chief said.

Meanwhile, the earlier identified CEFA in Angat, Bulacan would be converted into a private facility focused on laboratory testing and condemnation of smuggled and rejected imported goods.

The Angat facility could be operational ahead of the three CEFAs since it is just awaiting the equipment turnover from the government. The facility may start running between January and February of next year, Tiu Laurel said.

The CEFA, considered as the country’s first border facility, is being touted by the government as a state-of-the-art examination facility capable of scrutinizing all imported agricultural commodities.

The facility is part of the government’s efforts to curb smuggling and strengthen the state’s capacity against animal diseases and pests.

The facilities would also allow various food safety regulatory agencies to conduct mandatory inspections of imported farm products pursuant to their mandates under the Food Safety Act of 2013.

The project was first approved in late 2019 by former president Rodrigo Duterte but has not seen the light of the day until today. Last year, about P2.3 billion was lodged in the DA’s budget for the construction of the first border facilities.

The department noted that it has been searching for suitable locations for the CEFAs for at least a decade already.

The call of various industry groups on the government to fast-track the establishment of the first border facilities have been mounting in recent years amid the intrusion and spread of trans-boundary animal diseases such as bird flu and African swine fever in the country.

The construction of the first border facilities has been delayed due to various issues including the COVID-9 pandemic and logistical woes.

The agriculture chief said the government would issue an administrative order (AO) within the next three months that would authorize the pre-shipment inspection of agricultural goods to the country while awaiting for the construction of the first border facilities.

“That is what we will do, we will inspect [the shipments at the countries of origin]. The DOF (Department of Finance) agreed on this from what I understand,” Tiu Laurel said.

Tiu Laurel noted that the pre-shipment inspection would be conducted first in select countries.