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CEBU CITY — Authorities raided a warehouse in Barangay San Roque, Talisay City on Wednesday and confiscated 26,526 sacks of undocumented rice, equivalent to more than 863,000 kilograms and valued at around P38 million.
Authorities said only 6,000 sacks were covered by proper documentation. The rest were seized under Republic Act 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law.
The operation was carried out by the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage (AAES) Council in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Maritime Group, Philippine Coast Guard and Department of Agriculture.
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The rice, allegedly imported from Pakistan and Vietnam, was initially inspected on June 20, 2025 following a Letter of Authority issued a day earlier.
The company involved was then asked to present documents proving the legality of the stock but submitted paperwork for only a fraction of the total volume.
This led the CIDG and the Department of Justice’s Special Team of Prosecutors (STP) to seek a confirmatory search warrant from the Talisay City Regional Trial Court.
After the warrant was granted, authorities conducted a full inventory and confirmed the presence of all 26,526 sacks.
A petition for seizure was filed before the Court of Tax Appeals and was approved on July 8. The following day, enforcement teams carried out the court order and secured the warehouse.
AAES Council chairman and Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go said the goods were inspected, examined and found to be illegal.
He added that the government remains firm in its stance against economic sabotage and will continue to pursue those involved in such activities.
The STP is preparing to file economic sabotage charges, a nonbailable offense under the law, against those responsible.
Republic Act 12022, signed in 2024, imposes life imprisonment and fines of up to five times the value of the goods involved for acts of large-scale agricultural smuggling and related crimes.
A legal counsel from the company involved said the company is exhausting all possible legal remedies and maintained that it has complied with all necessary requirements.
