MANILA — Sen. Raffy Tulfo questioned the Department of Agriculture (DA) for continuing to issue special importation permits, or Certificates of Necessity to Import (CNI), to importers despite an oversupply of fish and other seafood products in the country.

During the Committee on Agriculture hearing, Tulfo cited General Santos and Bohol as examples of areas with abundant fish supply, noting that some locally caught products end up spoiling due to the lack of cold storage facilities.

“Kahit may oversupply na tayo ng seafood products, patuloy pa rin ang Department of Agriculture sa pag-isyu ng special import permits sa mga importer!” Tulfo said.

He added: “Unfair ito para sa mga mangingisda natin na nalulugi dahil madalas nasisira na ang produkto nila! Paano sila makikipagsabayan kung ang mga imported na isda, na balita ko ang iba galing pa sa China, ay ibinebenta nang sobrang mura?”

Tulfo required the DA to first conduct a thorough market study to determine if there is a genuine need for special import permits before issuing them, to ensure local fisherfolk do not suffer losses.

He also instructed the DA to closely coordinate with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to prevent smuggling and avoid undervaluation or misdeclaration of imported agricultural products.

In response, DA Undersecretary Carlos Carag and newly appointed Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno assured Tulfo that their agencies will continue to coordinate to ensure the contents of the special import permits match the actual imports inside the containers.