AN estimated P300 billion worth of cooking oil have been smuggled into the country.
The revelation was made by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Joey Salceda as regards the investigation of the committee concerning the smuggling of agricultural products.
According to the lawmaker, the smuggled oil came from Malaysia and declared as feed stocks for animals.
The congressman even got angry during the meeting because smuggled cooking oil is already flooding the local market, while the Bureau of Customs (BOC) continues to lag in prosecuting the smugglers.
Meanwhile, Reildrin Morales of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) replied that the mentioned P300 billion worth of smuggled cooking oil can be those recorded from 2016 up to 2021.
But the Ways and Means chairman of the Lower House said it is not impossible that there is connivance between the DA and BOC with regard to the supposed smuggled cooking oil that is why a deeper investigation is needed.