Customs plans auction of seized Viet rice in April

LEGAZPI CITY—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will auction off in April the 94,000 bags of Vietnam rice it seized at the port here in September last year.

The smuggled rice from Vietnam is worth at least P135 million, a ranking Customs official said.

Danilo Lim, Customs deputy commissioner for intelligence, announced the planned auction after inspecting on March 26 the seized rice kept in a warehouse in this city.

Lawyer Leovigildo Dayoja, Customs collector here, said it would take the bureau a month to dispose of the seized imported rice through public auction.

Dayoja, however, said that the multipurpose cooperatives involved in the rice importation now face smuggling cases that automatically disqualify them from participating in the auction.

Dayoja said the auction would give additional revenue to the government, though it could not generate a 100 percent return due to the depreciation of the commodity’s value.

Dayoja said the bureau has spent some P3 million so far to keep the seized rice in the warehouse and prevent its spoilage.

At least 79,000 bags are currently stored in a warehouse that the bureau rents while 15,000 bags are still being unloaded from the vessel that brought them in and which is being held at the city port.