PASG orders tight watch vs smuggled milk products from China

MANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) on Monday stressed the need for a tighter anti-smuggling efforts in the country, amid fears over contaminated milk products from China. PASG chief Antonio Villar Jr said he has ordered PASG operatives to "spare no one who will be caught trying to smuggle in the banned milk and dairy products as well as the banned chemicals used in the manufacture of these products." "If fears of the western countries possibly falling victims to these contaminated products, chances are we the countries near China may also suffer the same fate. There should be a strong united front among us the concerned government agencies. We have to be extra vigilant at this point in time. We cannot afford to lower our guards, knowing that some evils out there may take advantage of the situation," Villar said. The official also warned PASG operatives that they will face "harsh consequences" if they are proven to be remiss in their duties. Villar said he specifically tapped PASG operatives in Metro Manila to closely monitor shipments of milk and dairy products from China as well as to be on the lookout for such products to reaching malls and commercial shops like those in Divisoria. The PASG move was made after a warning was issued to the Philippine government by the World Health Organization (WHO) against dairy and milk products from China where scores of infants have died due to poisoning by milk tainted with the toxic melamine chemical. Earlier reports, however, indicated that products from Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co. - the two other companies from China that were found reportedly to have melamine in their milk products - have already reached the Philippines and are being sold at malls in Metro Manila. Melamine, a toxic industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure, is reportedly high in nitrogen and has no nutritional value. - GMANews.TV