Department of Agriculture Pushes Amendments to Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to push for amendments to the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act to strengthen the country’s fight against agricultural smuggling.

In an interview on Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa emphasized the need to include the DA in the law’s Enforcement Group, which currently only consists of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Department of Finance (DOF).

According to de Mesa, the DA’s inclusion would ensure faster coordination and more efficient monitoring, given its access to critical agricultural data.

“While we are able to coordinate with these agencies, having the DA formally included under the law would make monitoring more systematic and comprehensive across all ports,” de Mesa explained.

The DA is also proposing a review of the ₱10-million threshold required for agricultural smuggling to be classified as economic sabotage. De Mesa stressed that the amount is “too high,” citing onions as an example where excessive supply could flood the market before reaching the threshold, ultimately affecting local inventory and prices.

“The ₱10 million threshold is too steep. It should be reassessed to truly discourage and prevent large-scale smuggling,” he added.

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