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Saturday, November 22, 2003
BPI chief resigns
By Harley Palangchao
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo announced the resignation of Bureau of Plant and Industry chief Blo Umpar Adiong effective December 1, apparently due to pressures from the provincial government of Benguet and the local farmers.
President Arroyo, meanwhile, told reporters that BPI will undergo an organizational re-structuring in the coming days in a bid to solve the issues that are hounding the local vegetable industry.
These include the unabated smuggling of temperate vegetables into the country and the continuous issuance of import permits allegedly by the BPI despite the moratorium ordered by Arroyo.
The President also ordered former Presidential Security Group head-turned-anti-smuggling czar, Chief Supt. Jun Esperon, to intensify an all-out campaign against vegetable smuggling.
Benguet Gov. Raul Molintas and the Provincial Board earlier endorsed the petition of farmers calling for the relief of Adiong and other BPI officials for not protecting and promoting the welfare of those in the agriculture sector.
Farmers tagged Adiong the "king of all pests" for his alleged connivance with syndicated vegetable smugglers.
But the beleaguered BPI chief told local media and Benguet officials recently the BPI has nothing to do with the reported rampant vegetable smuggling. He instead blamed the Bureau of Customs (BoC).
He added the issuance of import permits to vegetable importers is in consonance with the provisions of the World Trade Organization-General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (Gatt-WTO), of which the Philippines is a signatory.
The farmers argued, however, that President Arroyo already issued a directive ordering the BPI to put on hold the issuance of permits following mounting complaints from farmers nationwide.
Meanwhile, Arroyo told Benguet officials and farmers the government will extend the application of Executive Order 197 or the Tariff on Imported Vegetables. The government, she added, is already working on that.
EO 197 is supposed to expire next month, fanning apprehensions of vegetable farmers here that the no-tariff situation will worsen the smuggling situation.
The President said "vegetable farmers must also synchronize their planting and harvesting schedule so that they will not dump everything on the market at the same time."
Arroyo earlier ordered the release of P17 million-worth of cold-storage facilities to minimize if not prevent altogether huge post-production losses.
(November 22, 2003 issue)
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