The City prosecutor of Las Piñas has recommended the filing of charges against four individuals for violating the Fertilizer and Pesticides Act, following an inquest after their arrest for the illegal sale of unregistered agricultural chemicals and trading such commodities without a license.
“We welcome this decisive action by the Las Piñas City prosecutor to pursue charges against individuals whose illegal activities not only harm our farmers and agricultural productivity but also undermine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s vision of a food-secure Philippines,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
The Las Piñas prosecutor ordered the indictment of James Malinao Halasan, Julievie Galleon Dumalagan, Prescillano Baloma, and Raina Mosong Canalita.
The Las Piñas prosecutor ordered the indictment of James Malinao Halasan, Julievie Galleon Dumalagan, Prescillano Baloma, and Raina Mosong Canalita, who were arrested during a police entrapment operation.
The suspects allegedly posed as representatives of WLEX Co. Philippines Inc., leading to the discovery of unregistered fertilizers and pesticides worth approximately ₱3.5 million in a warehouse in Las Piñas.
In addition to combating the illegal trade of fertilizers and pesticides, the Department of Agriculture is also going after those involved in the smuggling of agricultural commodities and filed several charges in recent months.
Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) Executive Director Glenn Estrada emphasized that the arrests and forthcoming prosecutions are part of an intensified campaign against the illicit trade of agricultural chemicals.
“We cannot allow unscrupulous traders to shortchange our farmers by selling substandard products that compromise their ability to increase yields.”
“We cannot allow unscrupulous traders to shortchange our farmers by selling substandard products that compromise their ability to increase yields,” Estrada said.
Among the seized items were hundreds of one-liter bottles of pesticides labeled Axonic, Sapphire, Clonic, and Nutrinano Fruit; four sacks of Welzeb; thousands of sachets of Nutrinano SC, Nutrinano, and Norinano Plus fertilizers; several containers of Bioplus; and three unlabelled chemical products.
The FPA also noted that the Norinano fertilizers were government-procured and not authorized for resale, raising further concerns about the legitimacy of the suspects’ operations.
In its inquest resolution, the prosecutor’s office found prima facie evidence to indict the respondents for violating Section 8(a) of Presidential Decree No. 1144, which prohibits the production, importation, distribution, storage, and sale of commercial quantities of regulated agricultural inputs without a license from the FPA.
The suspects also face charges under Section 9 of the same decree, which specifically prohibits the sale of unregistered or unlicensed fertilizers and pesticides.
The warrantless arrest was deemed lawful, as the warehouse search was conducted with the voluntary consent of Halasan.
“In an effort to convince the police, he willingly offered a visit to the warehouse,” the resolution said.
