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Sotto leads Senate inquiry on rampant vegetable smuggling: Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, presides over the Committee of the Whole (COW) hybrid inquiry into the rampant smuggling of agricultural products into the country and the efficacy of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to stop it. Sotto said rampant smuggling of agricultural products has been causing price distortion in locally produced vegetables and aggravates further the slowdown in farm production. Sotto added that the influx of illegally imported vegetables not only leaves the already pandemic-devastated Filipino farmers at the losing end but also results in a large-scale revenue loss for the government. “We expect that all our resource persons can shed light on the matter to help the Committee of the Whole in coming up with plausible measures and recommendations in its report, which may include the possibility of filing administrative and/or criminal charges, if warranted, against any erring official and ultimately come up with a legislative measure to strengthen the anti-agricultural smuggling law,” Sotto said. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)