Dateline Kamuning:     As part of the measures to ensure a sufficient reserve of sugar in the country, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Sunday the government will now maintain a two-month buffer stock of sugar. “We will maintain from now on, in sugar, a two-month buffer stock… so that people will know hindi tayo magkaka-shortage dahil lagi tayong mayroon two-month na buffer stock which I will maintain,” Marcos told reporters in an interview on board PR001 en route to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF). Aside from ensuring a buffer stock, the chief executive likewise discussed his administration’s plans against smuggling and improving the production side of agricultural products.     “The smuggling, ‘yun talaga… kailangan talagang i-solve ‘yun. Masyadong laganap ang smuggling dito sa Pilipinas kahit na ano ini-smuggle eh. So we have to really look into that and we have some very good ideas,” Marcos said. In a meeting with the P...

    Dateline Kamuning:    A composite team from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Manila International Container Port – Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (MICP-CIIS), and Bureau of Customs (BOC) was deployed to inspect the shipments consigned to Taculog J International Consumer Goods Trading on December 14, 2022 and December 16, 2022. The cargo was initially declared to contain steamed buns. Following a derogatory report submitted to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for DA Inspectorate and Enforcement (DA I&E), the team was directed to probe the 8  forty-footer container vans, which were later found to contain yellow onions, red onions, frozen fish tofu, and frozen squid flower. The estimated value of the misdeclared and misclassified agri-produce amount to  P53.6 million.  The Department of Agriculture is currently preparing charges against...