The anti-agricultural smuggling arm of the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported on Wednesday the confiscation of 26,526 sacks of smuggled rice from the warehouse located in Talisay City, Cebu, with an estimated total value of ₱38 million.
This is the first enforcement operation initiated by the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage (AAES) Council on June 20, the day after the letter of authority directing the enforcement group (EG) to inspect the warehouses within the Kimba Compound. The warehouse would be inspected as a result of the reports regarding the alleged storage of smuggled agricultural products in violation of the AAES Law.
The enforcement team, composed of personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Maritime Group (MG), showed that River Valley Distribution Inc. (RVDI) had stored 26,526 sacks of rice with a total weight of 863,345 kilograms in its warehouse.
It will go hand in hand with the commitment of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to secure food safety for the country, with the pledge to uphold the law.
On July 8, the Court of Tax Appeals issued a seizure order concerning the stolen goods being kept in storage, outlined in a petition by the PNP-CIDG in coordination with the Special Team of Prosecutors (STP) of the DOJ.
Chairing the AAES Council is Frederick Go, also Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA). Members include Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, representatives from the Office of the President, and the enforcement group.
The AAES was created under Republic Act No. 12022, also known as the AAES Law, to combat agricultural smuggling on a large scale, as well as internal hoarding, profiteering, and cartelized practices.
The STP will file a case for economic sabotage, a non-bailable offense, against the people involved.
