BOC: Amount of seized onions, agri products from Dec. 27 to 29 reaches P139M

Officers from the Customs intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) inspect boxes containing red and white onions, misdeclared to be frozen dimsum balls. The Bureau of Customs said that the agricultural goods seized from December 27 to 28 was worth P139.7 million. | Bureau of Customs

MANILA, Philippines — Over P139.7-million worth of smuggled agricultural products — including red and white onions again — were seized in another wave of inspections done by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from December 27 to 29.

Reports from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) on Saturday showed that the subject containers arrived in the country between November 27 and December 3 at the MICP, and were consigned to Taculog J International Consumer Goods Trading.

The shipments were declared as udon noodles and frozen dimsum balls, but upon inspection by the BOC’s CIIS, it was revealed to have contained undeclared red and white onions, frozen ox stripe, frozen barbecue, and frozen crawfish.

The first among the three sets of shipments arrived on November 25, and was examined on December 28.  According to the manifest, the containers were for frozen lobster, frozen prawn balls, and frozen crab sticks but upon inspection, P15.5 million worth of ox tripe was found.

The shipment that arrived on November 27 and was examined on December 28 to 29 was said to have udon noodles, frozen lobster, frozen prawn balls, and frozen crab sticks but in reality, it was carrying fresh red onions, frozen barbecue, and frozen crawfish worth P46.75 million.

Meanwhile, four more shipments arrived on December 3, declared as udon noodles, but also contained red and white onions worth P77.51 million.

BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said he was livid after finding out that the same company that nearly eluded authorities for bringing in smuggled onions tried to bring in new shipments again.

According to BOC, this is not the first time that a shipment consigned to Taculog J International Consumer Goods Trading was stopped.  Just this early December, P171.3 million worth of smuggled agricultural goods — including red and white onions — were seized.

As of now, the estimated total value of agricultural products seized from the said company from November to December 2022 is at P327.4 million.

“Although I am proud of our men and what they were able to accomplish these past weeks, I am appalled at the gall of these groups. We have reports coming in that a kilo of red onions sells for P720 in the markets,” Ruiz said.

“Bringing a hot commodity like onions into our borders without going through the proper procedures is an affront to our farmers, the people who make sure we have enough supply of it,” he added.

Deputy Commissioner and retired Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy meanwhile said that these smugglers are trying to take advantage of the high cost of onions in the market, and the high demand due to holiday celebrations.

“As Filipinos, we love to gather around the table during the holidays and share whatever food we have, but it seems that many of our kababayans won’t even get to cook their favorite spaghetti recipe because of the high cost of onions and other food products. For the bureau, just the mere act of trying to cross our borders with undeclared items is an insult,” he added.

“I can’t praise our people enough. I know how hard they’ve been working to get to the bottom of how this company operates. And to do it during the holidays, that takes a special kind of commitment and dedication,” Uy said.

Recently, prices of red onion skyrocketed to P600 to P700 per kilogram, prompting the Department of Agriculture to put a suggested retail price of P250 per kilogram for the holidays.

READ: Fines, jail time for violating P250 SRP for red onions – DA 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is also considering the release of the onions smuggled into the country’s markets so that it would increase supply and hopefully bring prices down.

However, lawmakers from the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc believe both actions are mere stop-gap measures, suggesting that the government instead provide subsidies to farmers to help them increase their yield.

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