Large-scale smuggling of agricultural products as economic sabotage: seriously?

The problem of smuggling in the Philippines has reached horrendous heights. It retards agricultural production, limits manufacturing, and increases income inequality.
“Smuggling in the Philippines is at its worst under President Aquino’s administration, with the smuggled value averaging $19.6 billion annually, an explosion from the comparable figures of $3.1 billion and $3.8 billion yearly during the terms of Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, respectively,” says Rigoberto Tiglao, a noted opinion writer, citing data from the International Monetary Fund.