Some of the cigarette boxes seized by the Parañaque City Environment and Natural Resources Office. (Photo courtesy of the Parañaque CEMRO)
Police arrested three employees of controversial Mighty Corp. after they were caught disposing of several boxes of cigarrettes in Parañaque on Wednesday.
Members of the Bantay Kalikasan from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) saw three people in a white L300 van (UOD 472) dumping boxes of cigarettes at a dump site in Barangay San Isidro about 5 p.m.
Ali Diamla, one of the three CENRO employees, approached the group and asked for their identification. The suspects, however, did not show any identification documents, prompting their arrest, according to case investigator SPO1 Walter Dulawan.
Dulawan said the suspects were brought to Parañaque City Police Station for questioning.
Theywere identified as Elmer Quintero, the driver, 46; Jun Mar Luna, 24; and John Rey Linatoc, 28 . All were employees of Mighty Corp.
The suspects were caught throwing away several boxes of Chelsea, King, and Marvel – all cigarette brands under Marvel Corp, said CENRO chief Bernardo Amurao.
Amurao said they had collected at least 20 sacks of cigarettes cut into pieces.
Senior Supt. Jemar Modequillo, Parañaque police chief, said the three were facing charges in violation of City Ordinance 05-018, or Waste Segregation Act.
Amurao said the three suspects were released after a representative of Mighty Corp., paid the P5,000 fine for violation of the illegal dumping ordinance on second offense.
Amurao explained the suspects were already warned by CENRO officers about 2 p.m. for attempting to dispose of their garbage.
But they returned again at 5 p.m., when they were arrested by police.
Modequillo said the place where the employees of Mighty Corp. disposed of their cigarettes was not a public dumping site but a container where garbage of San Isidro residents were consolidated, before they were collected by dump trucks at night.
Quoting the suspects, he said, they had finished distributing boxes of cigarettes and were to dispose of their “rejected” cigarettes.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the arrest of homegrown cigarette company Mighty Corp. owner Alex Wongchuking for “economic sabotage.”
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is investigating Might Corp. for its alleged use of fake tax stamps on its products.
In a series of raids last week, the Bureau of Customs seized P2 billion worth of smuggled and fake cigarettes, including brands under Mighty which bear fake tax stamps. /atm