DA: Tiu Laurel ordered rice shipment permit revoked before arrival

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. had ordered the revocation of the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for a vessel carrying suspected smuggled rice before it arrived in the Philippines. According to the DA, the decision came after Tiu Laurel received “derogatory” information about the