PAL crew won’t be charged over souvenir onions, says BOC
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MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Thursday no charges might be filed against Philippine Airlines (PAL) crew members who brought onions and other undeclared agricultural products to the Philippines as “pasalubong” (souvenirs).
BOC spokesman Arnaldo Dela Torre Jr. disclosed this and explained that Presidential Decree No. 1433 or the Plant Quarantine Decree of 1978 only provides the confiscation of agricultural products brought into the country for personal consumption.
Still, he maintained, bringing in agricultural products to the country without sanitary and phytosanitary clearance certificates and a permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry is prohibited regardless of the quantity.
“Ang normal na procedure natin, kapag pina-implement po iyong Presidential Decree No. 1433 ay confiscation lang ang ginagawa natin,” he said in a public briefing.
(In our normal procedure, if PD 1433 is implemented, we only do confiscation.)
“Kapag doon po naman sa pagkakaso, sa ngayon wala pong ganoon,” Dela Torre added.
(As for the filing of complaints, there is none like that.)
READ: Onions, other veggies from abroad need clearances, Filipino travelers warned
On January 10, authorities intercepted nearly 40 kilos of onions and fruits from the Middle East, which where brought into the country without necessary permits by 10 flight crew members of PAL.
But Dela Torre said that although the BOC will not file a complaint against the PAL crew for the agricultural products they brought home for pasalubong, they may take action regarding the “behavior” of the group.
In an earlier statement, the BOC said the flight attendants “exhibited unruly behaviors by stomping/stepping and destroying/crushing the said products without permits in public view upon being informed of their violations.”
“‘Yung legal na aksiyon na gagawin ng Bureau of Customs at ng quarantine office ay with regards doon sa behavior, doon sa pagkakataon o insidente na kung saan ay mayroong hindi magandang nangyari,” he said.
(The BOC will take legal action about the behavior during the incident.)
Senators previously expressed dismay that the PAL crew members are put in hot water for bringing onions to the Philippines as pasalubong, pointing out the supposed double standards that authorities purportedly have shown for punishing the airline personnel while letting big-time smugglers go free.
