50,000 MT rice smuggled to PH weekly, says Customs exec

By: Maila Ager - 11 years ago

File photo by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—As much as 50,000 metric tons of rice a week were allegedly smuggled into the Philippines last year, an official of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

“At its height, 2,000 containers a week,” Agaton Uvero, Customs deputy commissioner for assessment and operations coordinating group, said during the hearing of the Senate committee on ways and mean.

Uvero was responding to Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce-Enrile’s query as to how many tons of rice were smuggled annually into the country.

Each container, he said, contains 25 metric tons of rice.

Uvero reiterated that the 50,000 tons per week was “at it heights” only and the average was about 4,000 containers a month.

He said the last smuggling of rice reported was in October, 2013.

Before this, Enrile questioned the BoC’s failure to curb the rice smuggling in the country .

“How come in the case of rice, you can’t t stop smuggling?” he asked.

To address the problem of rice smuggling, Enrile said there should be coordination between the BoC and Malacañang, saying that the bureau could not do it alone.

“This is a government effort….” he said, “You can’t stop smuggling without the participation of Malacañang. And I’m talking from experience. I succeeded somehow during my time not because of myself but because I have the full backing of the Palace.”

But Uvero expressed confidence that the BoC has the full backing of President Benigno Aquino III in its fight against smuggling, Enrile conceded.

“What’ I’m saying is the entire government must exert effort, not just one agency…” the opposition leader added.

Despite corruption allegations hounding the BoC, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said there was no need yet to overhaul the bureau.

“Palagay ko kelangan ng konting shake up (I think a little shake up is needed),” said Angara, chairman of the committee.

“Sometimes when a collector has been in one port for too long, that collector will become too cosy or too comfortable with the importers,” the senator said. “I think it’s not only with Customs but also in other agencies of government that a reshuffle is needed.”