I write from Kyoto, Japan, where domestically grown rice is subsidized and protected. We Filipinos can learn a few things from the Japanese on how to nurture and protect our own rice industry, and thus, our food security.
But I write now more because of an urgent issue that should be addressed immediately because of the great risk of fooling our farmers.
IFM again
Two days ago, some farmer leaders reported that they were happy that the Bureau of Customs (BoC) will finally implement a commitment they made last May 4. BoC will transmit the Inward Foreign Manifest (IFM) to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
This is a very significant move. The IFM lists the product imported, the source, the name of the vessel, and the date of arrival. BoC gets this at least a day before its arrival. It is a key tool to stop smuggling.
For example, if the product does not have an import permit, it can be confiscated upon arrival. Unfortunately, only BoC has this list. It refuses to give this IFM to DA. This is despite a unanimous recommendation by 200 agricultural stakeholders made at the AF 2025 Conference held last February 2011.
Thus, there has been rampant smuggling, causing forgone annual tax revenue of P110 billion a year, and thousands of lost jobs. For example, in the last two years, 20 percent of our backyard hog producers lost their jobs.
If DA had the IFM, it would be a necessary check and balance to BoC. BoC reports only two-thirds of the value of inputs every year. The missing one-third is the estimated amount of smuggling.
The catch
There is, however, a “big catch” to the BoC plan of giving DA the IFM. It will give the IFM selectively. For example, BoC has stated it would first sort out the list of imported products from the IFM. It will then give this limited list to the DA meat quarantine officers.
Some farmers lauded this move. They do not realize there is a great risk that they are being fooled. It is almost “déjà vu.” It happened in 2007 when BoC gave incomplete IFMs to DA. Thus, those products not in the list were not known to DA, and were conveniently smuggled.
Of course, it is possible that this time BoC will conscientiously give the complete list of the imported pork products to DA’s quarantine officers. But with the recent BoC track record, who can tell if this will happen now?
The solution
The solution is simple. The complete unedited IFM should be given to DA, similar to what BoC gave DTI in 2009. DA itself can then sort out the pork products from the IFM and give this list to its meat quarantine officers. While we trust the majority of BoC officials, we know that some are in connivance with the smugglers. These people are getting rich at the expense of the farmers and the government. The list edited by them may once again be incomplete. The items they omit will then likely be smuggled. It will be “consuelo de bobo,” making actual “bobos” of the farmers.
All these implementation delays and devious devices can be avoided if we follow P-Noy’s thrust of public-private partnership (PPP).
We met with Trade and Industry Secretary Gregorio Domingo last July 2. He likewise supported the move to have BoC give DTI the IFMs, as was done in 2009 when the fight against smuggling significantly improved.
Team-up
If DA and DTI team up with the Department of Finance (DoF) from the government sector, and one representative each from the agriculture and industry from the private sector, they can meet regularly to support the “good forces” in the BoC led by Commissioner Rufino Biazon against the “bad forces.”
But without this PPP, the “bad forces” will run circles around the well-intentioned BoC officials, some of whom do not have the experience to know this is happening.
Players in the private sector know, because they have had years of experience. Their reports should be secured quickly and regularly in PPP fashion, rather than requiring actions like a costly pig and poultry holiday before they can be heard.
Did not P-Noy say to the private sector: “Ikaw ang boss ko”? It is time we put PPP into action against smuggling. Otherwise, fooling farmers will become the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of BoC’s “bad forces”. What is worse, these same people are trying to fool well-intentioned but less-experienced BoC officials. It will then not only be the farmers who will be losers, but the BoC as well.
(The author is chair of Agriwatch, former secretary for presidential flagship programs and projects, and former undersecretary for Agriculture, and Trade and Industry. For inquiries and suggestions, e-mail agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com)