“Joined the President’s distribution of tons of confiscated smuggled mackerel in Baseco, Manila. These confiscated boxes of smuggled frozen fish being distributed now in Manila are part of a big haul of the Bureau of Customs (BOC),” Secretary Gatchalian said on his Facebook post.
A total of 21,000 Tondo families received 2-kilos of mackerel each during the distribution.
As cited by the DSWD chief, the frozen fish were sourced from the Php178.5M-worth of mackerels that were intercepted by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) last October for lacking the mandatory sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance.
The mackerels have been marked safe for consumption following the testing conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), which declared the mackerels as having met all standards for human consumption.
“These tons of confiscated smuggled fish will be distributed among the poorest barangays in the 17 LGUs in NCR; Obando, Bulacan; and Bacoor Cavite—including clients inside city jails, public hospitals, and residents of various care facilities,” Secretary Gatchalian said on his Facebook post.
President Marcos said that with the repurposed goods, the government is able to stand its ground against smuggling, while also finding a way to make use of the confiscated items for the best interest of the locals.
“Asahan po ninyo na kapag may ganitong pangyayari ang una naming iniisip kung paano gamitin itong mga nahuhuling pagkain na ito,” the President told the recipients of the goods.
“Kayo ngayon ang naging beneficiary sa mga nahuli na smuggled agricultural products — itong tulingan, mabuti, naman na nandito kayong lahat. Hindi masasayang at magagamit naman ninyo,” President Marcos added.
The Tondo event marked the first distribution of the donated goods, anchored on the DSWD and Department of Agriculture (DA) memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed early Saturday morning.
This agreement formalized the turnover of the mackerels to the DSWD for distribution to marginalized families in select LGUs.
Prior to the distribution, DSWD Secretary Gatchalian was also among the Cabinet officials who joined President Marcos in his visit to personally inspect the frozen mackerels.
Other high ranking officials present at the inspection and distribution were Department of Agriculture (DA) Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla and Bureau of Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio. (LSJ)
