In a statement, KMP said “It is plain obvious that container vans with smuggled rice are bigger threats to our economy and definitely far easier to spot than a Balikbayan box contraband.”
“Instead of zeroing in on our hardworking Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), the Bureau of Customs should be after the big rice smugglers and cartels who have been dumping millions of tons of rice imports in the local market at the expense of local rice farmers and the ailing domestic rice and grains industry,’ said KMP Chairperson Rafael Mariano.
“This preposterous idea of tracking balikbayan boxes is not only infuriating but also an insult to OFWs contributing to the national coffers through their remittances,” Mariano addded.
KMP also hit Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte who said the government has also been after big-time smugglers.
“We all know that Valte is lying through her teeth, as no single rice cartel or smuggler have ever been convicted under Aquino,” Mariano said.
He noted that “the corruption-riddled importation of 800,000 metric tons during the first quarter of 2014 remains unresolved with no rice cartel or smuggler ever held accountable.”
“This is the height of callousness. Not only have they insulted our fellow OFWs but clearly shown who their true bosses are—the smugglers and rice cartels,” Mariano said.
Mariano reiterated that rice importation has been increasing in the recent years. In 2014 alone, the National Food Administration imported 2.85 million metric tons of rice, making the Philippines one of the biggest rice importers in Asia, he noted.