Manila: The signing of Republic Act No. 12022, or the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, will lead to more affordable food products, improve the livelihood of farmers and raise tax collection, Senator Loren Legarda said Monday. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed the measure in Malacañang last Sept. 26. The law seeks to curtail smuggling, profiteering, and hoarding of agricultural products. 'We welcome the signing of this priority measure, which seeks to make food products more affordable and for the common Filipino to have more on their plate daily," Legarda said in a news release. "With the proper implementation of this law, the State will now have more power to capture, prosecute, and punish those who want to take advantage of the unequal system between our farmers and abusive parties who seek to make a profit," she added. Under the law, agricultural smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, cartel, and financing of these crimes will now be considered acts of economic sabotage, punishable by life i mprisonment plus triple the fine of the total value of the products involved. Aiding and abetting also carries a 20 to 30-year prison term, as well as a fine of twice the total value of the products involved. An Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Council will also be established to oversee the proper implementation of the law. "Our fervent hope is to seek better days for our farmers, who have been ravaged by unequal business practices and unfavorable weather disturbances which have destroyed their produce," Legarda said. "With this new law, the legal collection of taxes, as well as the proper paying of value-added tax, will improve drastically through the availability of more products for public consumption." Source: Philippines News Agency