THE Provincial Government of Zamboanga del Sur has tapped the assistance of the police and military to help curb out rice smuggling in that province, an official said.
Zamboanga del Sur Vice Governor Juan Regala said the Provincial Government has passed a resolution during its regular session last week deputizing the police and military to help in the fight against smuggling of rice.
The approval of the resolution came after the recent confiscation of 8,000 sacks of smuggled rice of 25 kilos each with an estimated market value of P10 million in that province.
The Zamboanga del Sur police reported that the shipment of smuggled rice was intercepted last September 26 at the port of Margosatubig town.
The shipment came from the province of Tawi-Tawi, the police added.
If left unabated, Regala said the smuggling of rice will greatly affect the livelihood of the farmers in Zamboanga del Sur.
The province of Zamboanga del Sur is dubbed as the rice granary of the region.