Smuggled onions worth P18 million seized in CDO, says customs bureau

Onions. INQUIRER.net stock photo

MANILA, Philippines — An estimated P18 million worth of red and white onions that were misdeclared as “soft tortilla wraps” have been intercepted at the Port of Cagayan de Oro.

In a statement released Friday, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said its Field Station at Cagayan De Oro received “derogatory information” through a Field Information Report (FIRE) from the Intelligence Division about the shipment of possibly misdeclared agricultural products.

BOC Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Jeoffrey Tacio said this prompted their agents to inspect the shipment consigned to a certain Primex Export and Import Producer at the Mindanao International Container Terminal Services Inc. (MICTSI) yard.

The inspection also involved personnel from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), among others.

“In such instances, the standing order is for us to act immediately by filing the necessary documents and receiving the go-signal. It is imperative that we act swiftly on smuggling cases to prevent these incidents from repeatedly happening in our own ports,” Tacio said.

New BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said the quick response of authorities is another proof that the bureau is working to stop so-called agricultural smuggling in the country.

“We have a legacy to continue here, one that was started by the previous administration,” Ruiz said in the same statement.

“We know that we have been a target of agricultural smuggling for years, and I personally believe it is high time we put more resources into these efforts,” he added.

Ruiz further noted that this achievement of the BOC was possible due to the good foundation set by the previous administration.

“We have a good foundation in the bureau because for the past six years, there was a strong leadership at the helm, who pushed for the necessary changes that transformed our processes and made us more efficient in our jobs,” he noted.

The BOC said the field station chief at the Cagayan de Oro port requested the issuance of a Pre-Lodgement Control Order (PLCO) and then a Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) was recommended against the cargo.

It added that Primex Export and Import Producer will be charged for violating Section 1400 (misdeclaration of goods) and Section 117 (regulated importation) of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

This is not the first time misdeclared onions were seized at a Mindanao port.  Last July 21, P12 million worth of smuggled onions were confiscated at the Misamis Oriental Port.

The four shipments that contained the onions were misdeclared as “spring roll patti” and were also consigned to Primex Export and Import Producer.

On October 21, 2021, the BOC also raided a warehouse at Cagayan de Oro where P5 million worth of smuggled onions were recovered.

KGA