Gov't urged to fast-track funding, implementation of agri sabotage law

Former agriculture secretary and Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) chair Leonardo Montemayor has urged the government to immediately allocate funding and fully implement the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, saying the year-old law remains dormant despite worsening smuggling in the farm sector.

- By ALDEN MONZON

Montemayor said the law, which took effect in September 2024, has yet to receive proper funding and still lacks key bodies required for its enforcement.

These include the farmer advisory boards meant to represent eight major commodities such as rice, corn, poultry, fisheries, vegetables, tobacco and others.