Tiles shipment held in Manila port ends up in Bulacan

MEYCAUAYAN, Bulacan — Customs officials at the Port of Manila are in hot water for allowing 85 container vans filled with Chinese porcelain tiles to slip out.

Five port employees have been placed under preventive suspension for allegedly forging documents that allowed the shipment to be moved out on March 17 to Sterling Industrial Park in Barangay Libtong here, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said on Monday when he led a tracking team here.

Huge crates filled with porcelain tiles, owned by bricks and tiles distributor Hommss Trading Corp., were found stored in company warehouses here.

Undervalued

Lapeña said the tiles were originally held for being undervalued after the owner had declared that they were worth P69 million.

On March 19, customs officials were informed that the shipment had been released based on what they said were documents that bore fake signatures.

Lapeña said the shipment should be examined first and that only his office could release it.

He also said customs officials were conducting an inventory of goods at the warehouses as they suspected that more than 85 containers had been released by the Port of Manila. —Carmel Reyes-Estrope