Supreme Court E-Library
Information At Your Fingertips

  View printer friendly version

WHEREAS, the Plant Quarantine Service of the Bureau of Plant Industry by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1433, otherwise known as the “Plant Quarantine Law of 1978”, as revised by the Administrative Code of 1987, has the primary function of preventing the entry of foreign pests into the country and the further spread of these pests already introduced to places where they are not known to exist;

WHEREAS, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the FAO International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) reaffirms the sovereign right of the country to institute appropriate measures deemed necessary to protect human, plant, and animal life and health, provided that such measures do not unnecessarily restrict trade;

WHEREAS, the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) for fresh paprika (Capsicum anuum L.) was conducted and completed in accordance with the IPPC International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM #11, which takes into account evaluation of the biological or other scientific and economic evidence to determine whether a pest should be regulated and the strength of any phytosanitary measures to be taken against it;

Whereas, the completed PRA served as the basis for the issuance of this Administrative Circular (AC);

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PROCESO J. ALCALA, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, by the powers vested in me by law, do hereby issue this Circular providing guidelines governing the importation of fresh paprika from the Republic of Korea.

Article I
SCOPE AND DEFINITION OF TERMS AND ACRONYM

Section 1. Scope. This Circular shall govern the importation of fresh paprika from the Republic of Korea.

Section 2. Definition of Terms and Acronyms. For the purpose of this Circular, the following terms, words and phrases herein used shall be construed to mean as follows:

A. Definition:

1. Additional Declaration - a statement required by the BPI Plant Quarantine Service (PQS) to be stated on a Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) which provides specific additional information pertinent to the consignment.
2. Consignment - a specific quantity of fresh paprika being moved from the Republic of Korea to the Philippines covered by a single Phytosanitary Certificate
3. Maximum Residue Limit - allowable limit of pesticide level on fresh paprika set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
4. Pest Risk Analysis - the process of evaluating biological or other scientific and economic evidence to determine whether an organism is a pest, whether it should be regulated, and the strength of any phytosanitary measures to be taken against it [FAO, 1995; revised IPPC, 1997; ISPM No. 2, 2007]
5. Phytosanitary Certificate – Certificate patterned after the model certificates of the IPPC [FAO, 1990; ISPM No. 5, 2006]
6. Phytosanitary Certification – use of phytosanitary procedure leading to the issuance of a Phytosanitary Certificate [FAO, 1990; ISPM No. 5, 2006]
7. Phytosanitary Measure - any legislation, regulation or official procedure having the purpose to prevent the introduction and/or spread of quarantine pests, or to limit the economic impact of regulated non-quarantine pests. [FAO, 1990; ISPM No. 5, 2006]
8. Plant Quarantine Clearance (Import Permit) - official document issued by the BPI authorizing importation of a commodity into the Philippines in accordance with specified phytosanitary import requirements.

B. Acronyms:

AMV	- Alfalfa Mosaic Virua
BPI	- Bureau of Plant Industry (the NPPO of the Philippines)
IPPC	- International Plant Protection Convention
MRL	- Maximum Residue Limit
NPPO	- National Plant Protection Organization
PepMoV	- Pepper Mottle Virus
PC	- Phytosanitary Certificate
PMMV	- Pepper Mild Mottle Virus
PQC	- Plant Quarantine Clearance
PQO	- Plant Quarantine Officer of the BPI
PQS	- Plant Quarantine Service
PRA	- Pest Risk Analysis
QIA	- Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency
SPS	- Sanitary and Phytosanitary
WTO	- World Trade Organization

 

Article II
IMPORTER ACCREDITATION GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES

The following guidelines and procedures shall be implemented in the accreditation of the importers of fresh paprika (see Annex I).

A. Application for Accreditation – The accomplished Application for Accreditation and Accreditation Validation Form, together with pertinent documents enumerated hereunder shall be submitted to the BPI-PQS Central Office for the initial verification and evaluation of application. Pertinent documents should consist of the following:

1. Company Profile (for first-time applicants only);
2. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Registration/Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Registration/Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Certificate of Registration;
3. Current Mayor’s Business Permit (as importer);
4. Bureau of Customs (BOC) Certificate of Accreditation (Legal Service Department);
5. Valid Contract/Certificate of Lease of Storage Facility (Cold Storage/ Warehouse). Those who own the facility, submit title of land ownership and notarized affidavit of facility ownership installed in the area;
6. Location map of the storage facility;
7. Notarized Special Power of Attorney (SPA) of the representative(s); and
8. Two (2) 2X2 ID pictures of the owner and representative(s).

B. Importer’s Orientation - The company owner with his authorized representative(s) shall be oriented on the Plant Quarantine laws (PQ laws) and regulations, allowable plants/plant products that can be imported in the Philippines, procedures (process flow) of issuance of Plant Quarantine Clearance (PQC), possible sanctions of violations, and other concerns with regards to the importation of fresh paprika.

Orientation will be carried-out by the Chief of PQS or his assigned technical staff.

C. Facility Inspection – The Plant Quarantine (PQ) Officer/Inspector will conduct ocular inspection of the applicant’s office and storage facility following the guidelines for facility inspection procedures set by BPI-PQS (see Annex II).

D. Approval and Issuance of Accreditation – After the applicant has complied with all the requirements for accreditation, the application will be recommended for approval.

The BPI-PQS shall then issue a Certificate of Accreditation duly signed by the BPI Director upon recommendation of the PQS Chief.

Article III
APPLICATION FOR AND ISSUANCE OF PLANT QUARANTINE CLEARANCE

A. Any BPI-accredited fresh paprika importer who desires to import from the Republic of Korea must secure BPI Q Form No. 1 (Annex III).

B. Duly accomplished form together with the payment of non-refundable fee must be submitted to BPI-PQS with the following documents:

1. Valid Pro-forma invoice

2. Other commodity specific requirements

C. The BPI-PQS shall determine its sufficiency in form and substance and inform the applicant accordingly. Only properly accomplished application form with complete documentary requirements shall be processed within five (5) working days.

D. Approval / disapproval may take into consideration the following:

1. Latest advisory of the relevant international bodies and/or Korea pertaining to the pest status of the source areas
2. Violation of the applicant importer during the processing period
3. Other information pertinent to SPS concerns

Article IV
DISTRIBUTION OF APPROVED PQC

Upon approval of the application, a PQC in quadruplicate shall be issued as follows:

The original shall be given to the applicant for presentation to the Plant Quarantine Officer upon arrival of the consignment. The duplicate shall be sent in advance to the shipper in the country of origin by the applicant for their guidance relative to the terms and conditions imposed in the PQC. The triplicate shall be furnished to the Collector of Customs at the Port of Entry and the fourth copy shall be filed with the application.

Article V
VALIDITY AND NON-TRANSFERABILITY OF THE PQC

A. Validity of the PQC:

1. The validity of the PQC is three (3) months and shall be indicated in the PQC unless revoked for any of the grounds set forth in Article IX. Consignment of fresh paprika has to be loaded at the port in Korea after the issuance of the PQC specifically covering such consignment.
2. The date of loading at the port in Korea as specified in the Bill of Lading shall not be earlier than the date of issuance of the PQC, otherwise the consignment shall be subjected to a prescribed commodity treatment, if applicable or appropriate, or returned to the country of origin or destroyed at the Port of Entry, and all fees, charges and other expenses relative to such quarantine action shall be borne by the importer.

B. Non-Transferability of the PQC

The PQC is non-transferable and shall only be used by the person/company whose name appears in the PQC.

Article VI
FEES AND CHARGES

An accreditation fee shall be collected upon release of Certificate of Accreditation in the amount of Php 5,000.00. Yearly renewal shall also be subjected to processing fee of Php 3,000.00.

Other relevant fees shall be imposed as necessary pursuant to DA Administrative Order No. 01 Series of 2001, DA Administrative Order No. 12 and 26 Series of 2004.

Article VII
REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS ON PRE-EXPORT QUARANTINE INSPECTION

A. Source Areas

Exporters, production areas and processing facilities of fresh paprika intended for export to the Philippines shall be registered with Korea QIA. An official list shall be provided to BPI-PQS. Only those indicated in the list shall be allowed to export to the Philippines and approved by BPI-PQS.

B. Cleaning, Packing and Labelling

1. Paprika must be packed within 48 hours of harvest in packing houses approved and registered by QIA.
2. Paprika must be inspected, air-cleaned and shall be packed only in new and clean carton boxes
3. All boxes should be labeled with the greenhouse/packing house identity code (registration number), year of production, commodity code, area code and farmer’s individual identity code to allow trace back to the source farm or registered greenhouses.

C. Storage and transport

- Paprika should be stored at temperatures 18°C or below prior to export
- Paprika should be transported/shipped to the Philippines in refrigerated containers at 10°C or below.

D. Pre-export Phytosanitary Inspection and Certification by QIA

- Paprika fruits for export should be inspected for pests and diseases by QIA at a standard 600 unit sampling rate per inspection lot whereby one unit is one capsicum fruit
- Each consignment of paprika must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by QIA upon completion of pre-export inspection to verify that the relevant measure has been undertaken.

E. Sealing and Labeling of Carton Boxes

If the consignment satisfactorily passes the inspection, each carton box shall be sealed and labeled with the following information conspicuously displayed on the two sides of the box:

1. “FOR THE PHILIPPINES”;
2. The accreditation code issued by the QIA; and
3. Source of fresh paprika (specific farm/location)

F. Loading of Consignment and Sealing of Reefer Vans

1. Packed fresh paprika shall be immediately loaded in clean (disinfested/disinfected) reefer vans and transported as soon as possible.
2. The temperature of the reefer vans shall be set and maintained at appropriate temperature
3. The vans shall be closed and sealed under supervision of a QIA Officer.

G. Phytosanitary Certification

An original Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) shall be issued by the QIA for each consignment that satisfactorily passed the pre-export quarantine inspection. Integral to the PC is an additional declaration stating the following information:

1. “This shipment is covered by Plant Quarantine Clearance (PQC) no. __”
2. Container van and seal number
3. Name and QIA Accreditation Number of the accredited processing and packing facility
4. “The paprika fruit in this consignment has been produced in greenhouses in the Republic of Korea in accordance with the conditions governing the entry of fresh paprika fruit to the Philippines and inspected and found to be free of quarantine pests”.

H. Maximum Residue Level (MRL) Certificate

Each shipment shall be accompanied by a certificate of analysis for pesticide residue issued by a relevant government laboratory in Korea or issued by a government accredited laboratory, attesting that the pesticides used during production conform to the required Codex MRL for each pesticide.

Article VIII
ENTRY AND POST-ENTRY INSPECTION

The Philippine Plant Quarantine Service shall undertake the following phytosanitary activities upon arrival of each shipment.

1. Plant Quarantine Officers (PQOs) at the ports of entry should verify the authenticity of the accompanying documents namely Plant Quarantine Clearance, Phytosanitary Certificate, MRL Certificate.
2. Only sealed container vans will be received and opened by PQOs assigned at the port of entry.
3. Consignments complying with the above requirements shall be subjected to ten (10%) ocular inspection. If disease symptoms and insects are observed, samples should be taken and brought to the laboratory for further analysis/diagnosis. No shipment shall be released pending results of the analysis.
4. Upon arrival, monitoring for residue analysis of chemicals used in post harvest treatment (to be indicated on the consignment) shall be conducted at the National Pesticide Analysis Laboratory (NPAL), for the whole duration of export. If the pesticide level found on the consignment is not within the standards set for the pesticide level in fruits, the shipment shall be rejected
5. Consignments found non-compliant with the requirements (lacking the necessary documents i.e., Plant Quarantine Clearance, phytosanitary certificate and MRL Certificate) or found infested/infected with quarantine pests shall be subject to phytosanitary measures. The importer will be given the option to treat if an effective treatment is available, re-export or destroy the consignment at the expense of the importer.
6. Non-compliance with the import conditions and interception of quarantine pests, those identified in the PRA and other pests of quarantine importance shall result in BPI-PQS suspension of the export program. The PRA shall be revisited and reevaluated. Investigation and Audit of the Korean Export System shall be conducted. Export shall resume only upon satisfactory compliance with the corrective actions undertaken.
7. If an organism is detected on paprika fruit, either in the Republic of Korea or on-arrival in the Philippines, that has not been categorized, it will require assessment by BPI-PQS PRA team to determine its quarantine status and if phytosanitary action is required. The detection of any pests of quarantine concern not already identified in the analysis may result in remedial action, as appropriate.

Article IX
PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Section 1. Suspension/Revocation of PQC:

A. The PQC may be suspended or revoked at any time for any of the following grounds:

1. Providing false information in the application for import inspection form or in any of the accompanying documents to the application
2. Misdeclaration of consignment
3. Violation of relevant SPS rules and regulations or any conditions imposed in the PQC
4. Refusal to allow the inspection of the commodity, physical containment facility or intermediate destination of the product
5. Accreditation of the exporter has been suspended or revoked; or
6. New technical information becomes available to the BPI indicating that the fresh paprika, if allowed for its intended use will result to risks to human, animal or plant health or life and the environment.

B. Revocation or cancellation of the PQC shall be without prejudice to being further subjected to penalties.

Section 2. Confiscation and Disposal:

A. If the border inspection shows that:

• The fresh paprika is found to be infested/infected with regulated pests;
• The fresh paprika has been packed under unsanitary conditions;
• The consignment is contaminated, misbranded, misdeclared, or in violation of the terms and conditions embodied in the PQC; this Administrative Circular; and other sanitary and/or phytosanitary regulations;
• The consignment arrived without the required documentation; or
• Fake documents have been presented

The PQS shall inform the BOC of the violations and the consignment shall be disposed of in any of the following manner:

1. Confiscated and destroyed
2. Returned to the country of origin
3. Shipped to a third country, where possible

In no case shall a confiscated consignment be auctioned, redeemed, donated or sold by any government bureau or agency.

B. Notice of Confiscation shall be issued to the importer stating the reason/s for the confiscation. Three (3) copies of the said Notice shall be issued as follows: one (1) copy shall be given to the BOC; one (1) copy to the importer and one (1) copy shall be retained by the PQS.

Further, the notice shall provide indicative date of condemnation and disposal of the product.

C. All expenses (including travel, per diem or subsistence, and overtime pay) of officers or employees of the Philippine government in connection with the destruction or disposition of the seized fresh paprika and all expenses in connection with the storage, cargo or labor with respect to the refusal for admission of fresh paprika shall be paid by the importer.

D. The importer concerned shall then be blacklisted from the list of accredited importers.

E. The impounding or seizure shall not be a bar to subsequent prosecution in the court of the person/s concerned in accordance with law.

Section 3. Suspension of Fresh Paprika Importation:

A. In case of non-compliance with the requirements and conditions of this AC, quarantine pest interceptions at the port of entry, and/or pest outbreak at the source, the BPI reserves the right to suspend the fresh paprika importation.

B. An audit of the export program shall be conducted. The program shall resume only when the BPI and the QIA have mutually agreed on and instituted the necessary corrective actions to comply with the requirements and conditions of this AC.

Section 4. Other Penalties: The existing laws and rules and regulations of the BPI prescribing the violations and corresponding penalties shall be applied and imposed.

Section 5. Notification: The Department of Agriculture through the BPI shall immediately notify the QIA in writing, through the DFA-Philippine Embassy in Korea or the Embassy of Korea in Manila, of any detection or interception of quarantine pests in the shipment and non-compliance with the requirements and conditions of this AC.

Article X
REPEALING CLAUSE

All existing administrative circulars, rules and regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Circular are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Article XI
SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

If any portion of this Circular is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other portions thereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Article XII
EFFECTIVITY

This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Recommending Approval:

(SGD.) CLARITO M. BARRON Phd, CESO IV
Director, Bureau of Plant Industry

Approved:

(SGD.) PROCESO J. ALCALA
Secretary, Department of Agriculture