(2024.09.26) President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12022, otherwise known as the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act (RA) No. 12022, otherwise known as the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, in a ceremonial signing held at the Kalayaan Hall, Malacañan Palace, Manila 26 September 2024.

RA 12022 provides that smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, cartel and financing of these crimes involving agricultural and fishery products are classified as acts of economic sabotage and will carry a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of up to five times the value of the products involved in the crime.

The said law is among the priority measures of the Marcos Jr. administration. It repeals RA 10845 or the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016, replacing it with more comprehensive mechanisms to ensure stricter enforcement and better implementation.

In his message, President Marcos Jr. emphasized that the government shall confront and dismantle powerful forces that have long exploited the system for their own personal gain and ensured that justice shall prevail and the dignity of the agricultural sector shall be upheld.

Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Secretary Mark Llandro L. Mendoza, together with other PLLO officials and staff, attended the said ceremonial signing.