Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed that it is not only smuggling and misdeclaration of pork that government is losing big in revenues.
In the hearing conducted by the Senate Committee of the Whole, which discussed food security issues, particularly regarding the order of Malacanang on reducing tariff on and increasing volume of pork importations.
According to Lacson, the government is losing some P1.085 billion per year due to misdeclaration and smuggling of fish and other seafood between 2015 and 2020.
He also revealed contradictory information about fish and marine food arriving in the Philippines.
The senator said there is a difference of 20 million kilos of imported fish and seafoods coming into the country from 15 countries based on data of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
He also stated that there is a difference of P20.9 billion in their files on imported fish and seafood that arrived in the Philippines in the same period.
In his opinion, such illegal activities kill the livelihood of the country’s farmers.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has promised to investigate the Lacson outbreak.
