By Othel V. Campos

The Department of Agriculture (DA) canceled the import permit for 12,480 metric tons of rice from Vietnam aboard MV Tay Son 2 before the vessel reached the Philippines, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Wednesday, rejecting allegations of wrongdoing in the agency’s handling of the case.

“Critics of the DA are painting a false picture of this incident, suggesting malice and corruption through insinuations that border on libel,” Tiu Laurel said.

“The records will show otherwise. It was the DA, through my office, that stopped the shipment by ordering the Bureau of Plant Industry [BPI] to cancel its sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, even though the vessel was already on its way to the Philippines,” he said.

Tiu Laurel said he ordered the BPI to revoke the shipment’s sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPIC) after the DA received “derogatory” information about the cargo.

He said the cancellation was also made at the request of importer Planters Product Inc. (PPI), which had applied to bring in 25-percent broken rice but was later informed that the cargo contained 5-percent broken rice.

PPI also told the DA that the import contract had expired, as delivery was scheduled for July, when rice supply is typically tight, not September, when the vessel arrived.

The shipment reached the Port of Davao on Sept. 14, 2026, as the wet-season harvest was about to begin.

The DA said the late arrival could have put downward pressure on palay prices. The cargo was equal to about a third of the country’s daily rice requirement of 37,000 metric tons.

Without a valid SPIC, the rice could not be unloaded. Under DA rules, agricultural products imported without valid permits may be seized and destroyed, returned to their country of origin or shipped to a third country to protect public health and safety.

The vessel’s captain refused to submit the cargo for BPI inspection, which would have determined whether the rice could enter the country without posing a risk to public health. While the Bureau of Customs (BOC) was deciding how to handle the shipment, the vessel left the port on Sept. 17, three days after arriving, the DA said.

Tiu Laurel said he ordered the DA’s Inspectorate and Enforcement Office to issue a hold order on unloading and alerted the BOC in case the vessel tried to deliver the rice elsewhere in the country.

The Philippine Navy intercepted MV Tay Son 2 off Sarangani and brought it to the Port of General Santos City, where the captain again resisted BPI inspection. The vessel was later ordered back to Davao, where the BOC was determining the cargo’s fate. 

Tiu Laurel said the BPI had recommended returning the rice to its country of origin and was awaiting action by the BOC.

The bureau may instead seize the shipment and impose penalties, depending on its findings and applicable rules. The vessel remains subject to penalties in either case.

Tiu Laurel said the sequence of events showed the DA’s intent to protect both farmers and consumers, noting that the permit was canceled before the rice could arrive in the country.

Published Date: October 14, 2026