Around 588 metric tons of smuggled mackerel worth around Php 178.5 million was intercepted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Customs (BOC), the former announced on Wednesday.

The frozen goods were illegally shipped from China and unloaded at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) earlier this month.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel declared the import falls under smuggling, in accordance with the new Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage law enacted by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in September. This law equates the smuggling and hoarding of agricultural food products with economic sabotage when the products’ worth goes beyond Php 10 million.

“Pasok na pasok sa bagong anti-smuggling law, non-bailable ito kaya hahabulin natin iyan at ipapakulong (It fits exactly under the new anti-smuggling law, it’s non-bailable, so we should pursue the one responsible and have them jailed),” he said.

BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the shipping labels would help trace the source of the fish, whom the agencies report was also unable to provide a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance upon the shipment’s unloading.

The DA Chief oversaw the opening of three of the 21 container vans and noted the mackerel had a thin coating of ice, which had been applied with a technique called “glazing.” The ice adds to the fish’s weight, bumping up its price.

“Perfect ito para ipadala sa mga nasalanta ng bagyong Kristine. Mag-cocoordinate ang DA sa BOC kung paano ito mapapadala sa affected areas (This is perfect for the victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. The DA will coordinate with the BOC on how to send these to affected areas), in coordination with the Office of the President, once it has been approved safe for consumption,” Tiu Laurel said.