Smuggling syndicate tied to Chinese groups, local businessmen, and officials — Sen. Pangilinan sounds alarm

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: Filipino growers aren’t just fighting pests or erratic weather conditions — they’re also up against something far more deceptive: a controlling and influential web of contrabandists working with crooked insiders, both foreign and local.

In a sweltering Senate discussion on Monday, Senator Kiko Pangilinan pulled back the curtain on what he called a “betrayal of Filipino farmers,” exposing how Chinese trafficking organisations are purportedly operating with the assistance of Filipino capitalists and government officials to inundate the country with prohibited agricultural imports.

The senator stressed that this isn’t just smuggling but an act of treason against Filipino farmers.

An inside job

According to Pangilinan, the operations are sophisticated — and protected.

“There is enough circumstantial evidence pointing to collusion between foreign smuggling syndicates and our own officials,” he said, naming several key government agencies allegedly compromised: the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI), and even the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Also, while authorities occasionally conduct high-profile raids, the senator suggested these are often for show.

It’s just window dressing, Pangilinan called them. “The illusion of enforcement is not justice.” He added that to date, not a single major smuggler has been jailed for economic sabotage.

Mackerel and misdirection

One telling example: a ₱68-million (S$1.5 million) shipment of frozen mackerel from China, which somehow passed through the Port of Subic disguised as “chicken poppers” worth just ₱40 million.

The sham advances grave questions: How did such an immense misdeclaration go unobserved or disregarded? Or worse—who allowed it to pass?

Who’s really in charge?

The hearing turned tense as the Senate cited three individuals in contempt for allegedly lying under oath.

Andrew Calixihan, the Deputy Collector for Assessment at the Port of Subic, was one of them. Another Bureau of Customs officer — whose identity was withheld — faced the same fate.

Then there’s Erwin Pascual, the supposed owner of EPCB Consumer Goods Trading. He admitted he registered the business under someone else’s name: his nephew Dexter Sonza Juala, a food delivery rider who said he had no idea he was part of any business at all.

The real victims

Beyond all the technicalities and finger-pointing, Pangilinan reminded the public who really suffers from these illegal operations: the Filipino farmer.

According to the senator, these are the people who wake before sunrise and work under the heat of the sun, only to be undercut by contraband that slips in through the cracks — or is escorted through them.

Lost revenue, misdeclared cargo, and government betrayal may make headlines, but to many in rural communities, it means rotting produce, plunging prices, and dreams deferred.

What’s next?

The Senate’s investigation is far from over. More names are expected to surface, and more layers will be peeled back.

For now, one thing is clear — this isn’t just about illegal imports. It’s about a system that shields the guilty and leaves the honest behind.