Philippine Airline (PAL) flight attendants who were bringing onions and different fruits to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) did not commit a crime, Senator JV Ejercito said Monday.

Ejercito, the principal author of the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling law, said it was not his intention to imprison people who bring fruits and vegetables into the country for personal consumption.

“As the author of the anti-agricultural smuggling (law), I feel sad that for six years, or seven years after its enactment, we haven’t caught any big-time smugglers,” he said at a press conference.

“My intention when I filed this is to go after the big type of agriculture smugglers who are depriving our farmers of livelihood. These PAL crews are not depriving them of anything. They just brought small quantities. They’re not harming farmers. That was not the intention of the law,” he added.

Ten PAL flight attendants were caught with 40 kilograms of onions and other fruits from the Middle East, news reports said recently.

Customs officials seized the supposed undeclared agricultural products.

PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said the airline will investigate this incident.

Jaspearl Tan/DMS