Vietnamese rice held in Albay for lack of papers

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—A cargo of rice imported from Vietnam and consigned to the National Food Authority (NFA) is being held by Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Customs (BOC) authorities here for over a week now on suspicion that it is smuggled.

The 94,000 bags of Vietnam rice, worth around P112.8 million, could not be unloaded at the port of Legazpi as the NFA and its consignees have yet to produce the necessary official import document, the BOC in Albay said on Monday.

A Customs official, who refused to be named for lack of authority to speak about the matter, said the NFA in Albay promised to bring in to the BOC the importation papers but none were delivered up to 4:30 p.m.

The documents include the import permit issued by the NFA and the listings of consignee, the memorandum of undertaking between the NFA and the private consignee and the authentication and veracity of notice of award and notice to proceed, the bill of loading and the payment of Customs duties and other fees.

The source said that unless the NFA would present the documents, the BOC was constrained to put on hold the unloading of the rice that came on board the Vietnamese vessel MV Minh Tuan 68, which arrived on Sept. 2.

Yolanda Navarro, NFA-Albay manager, said by phone Monday that the importation was covered with proper documents, with the rice consigned to five multipurpose cooperatives across Luzon.

She said some of the consignees, however, have yet to complete their papers that were needed to be presented to the BOC.

Navarro said the documents still missing were the memorandum of undertaking between the NFA and private consignees that are under the agency’s Private Sector Importation Program, and the National Bids and Awards Committee (NBAC)-authenticated notice of award and notice to proceed to import signed by NFA administrator Angelito Banayo.

She stressed there was also nothing wrong with using Legazpi as the port of entry since Albay has been a regular port of discharge of imported rice consigned to NFA.

For this year alone, rice importations entered the ports of Legazpi and Tabaco cities, she said.

She said this Vietnam rice cargo was consigned to the NFA for the account of Ugnayan Magbubukid ng San Isidro Inc., Magumbali, Candaba, Pampanga, with 21,000 bags of Vietnam rice; Karapatan Takusa Multipurpose Coop of Mapaniqui, Candaba, Palawan with 21,000 bags; Malipampang Concern Citizen Multipurpose Coop, Malipampang, San Ildefonso, Bulacan, with 18,000 bags; Samahan ng Magsasakang Capangpangan at Katagalogan Multipurpose Coop, Garlang San Ildefonso, Bulacan with 18,000 bags; and Sili Multipurpose Coop, Sili, Naguilian, La Union, with 16,000 bags.

But Ensign Joy Villegas, PCG Bicol spokesperson, said that even if the BOC gets the necessary import documents, the Vietnamese vessel might still be impounded after PCG port inspectors found that the vessel violated provisions of the Marine Pollution 7378 convention.

Villegas said they would require the vessel’s local agent to comply with the deficiencies, which he declined to elaborate, that were found by the inspectors before they allow  the vessel to sail back to Vietnam.

There were reportedly 16 crewmen on board, all of them Vietnamese.

PCG Bicol district commander Commodore Joel Garcia on Saturday said the PCG has been guarding the vessel so as to prevent it from unloading the rice.

Failure to present the document would result in the issuance of a warrant of seizure and detention by the BOC, Garcia said.