MANILA — Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan questioned why big-time agricultural smugglers remain “untouchable” amid the continued dismissal of smuggling cases due to insufficient evidence.

During the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform’s hearing on October 7, Pangilinan expressed frustration after learning that most cases against agricultural smugglers have either been dismissed or not pursued in court.

“Kung apat lang (na kaso) ang nafa-file sa court sa loob ng halos limang taon, eh ‘di untouchable itong mga smuggler,” Pangilinan told officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

“Kung kulang ang dokumento galing sa BOC, anong agenda ng BOC?” he added.

Citing DOJ data, Pangilinan said that of 132 smuggling cases involving agricultural products from 2021 to 2025, 74 cases—or 56 percent—were dismissed. Another 36 were filed with dismissal, 12 were archived or returned to the BOC, and only four are for filing.

“Maliwanag sa record na ito, meron talagang untouchable,” he said. “Milyong-milyong piso halaga ang nakukumpiska taon-taon pero ni minsan walang nasasampahan ng non-bailable offense,” referring to Republic Act No. 12022 or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, which classifies smuggling of agricultural goods worth ₱10 million and above as a non-bailable crime.

The DOJ explained that many cases were dismissed, archived, or returned because of missing or insufficient documentary evidence from the BOC.

“When you say return, walang sapat na supporting documents or kung may documents, hindi original? So, parang gusto nila ma-dismiss yung kaso,” Pangilinan said. “Any lawyer would know you cannot submit Xerox copies of documents and hope to present it in court.”

The senator emphasized that the government’s anti-smuggling campaign depends not only on enforcement but on the quality of evidence submitted. He directed the DOJ and BOC to submit to the committee the names of lawyers and personnel handling these cases.

“Pag wala kayong documentary evidence, wala kayong conviction, dismiss ang kaso,” Pangilinan said.

In his opening statement, Pangilinan vowed to pursue not only the smugglers but also the government officials enabling them.

“Sila ang nararapat at dapat habulin—hindi itong maliliit na kinakasangkapan lamang. Walang hustisya dun,” he said. “Ang mga pinuno ng sindikato, lalo na ang mga nasa gobyerno, sila ang dapat managot.”

He added that documentary records from government agencies could help trace dummy brokers and consignees to the real masterminds behind multimillion-peso agricultural smuggling operations.

“Hindi sa bigat ng parusa nasusukat ang hustisya, kundi sa bilis at katiyakan ng pagpataw nito,” Pangilinan said. “Ang batas, gaano man katindi, ay magiging walang saysay kung hindi ito agad ipinapatupad.”