P13M hot goods seized

The Bureau of Customs yesterday afternoon opened seven container vans with misdeclared items at the Cebu International Port (CIP) container yard.

Five of the seven container vans contained three Mitsubishi Colts with accessories, a surplus Elf, a surplus ambulance, two speedboats, a big bike with accessories and used tires. Two other containers were filled with barrels of oil.

Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon who was present during the opening of the container vans, also inspected three of 312 container vans with smuggled rice from Vietnam.

The 312 container vans, which contain 264,000 sacks of premium rice, will be auctioned off on August 7.

According to Biazon, the auction will go on as scheduled despite an ongoing investigation on the pilferage of more than 200 sacks of rice from some of the container vans.

He explained that the seized smuggled rice must be auctioned off before its expiration.

Biazon said they had the names of the persons suspected to have involvement in pilferage but the BOC would not reveal the names, pending investigation.

So far, Biazon said, the BOC in Cebu has confiscated 1,159 containers of smuggled rice.

“We should grab this opportunity to reverse the negative into a good image of the BOC,” he said.

Auction must go on

Biazon said he wants the public auction of the confiscated rice to push through despite a request by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to put the plan on hold.

“Our concern now is the condition and the state of the sacks of rice, and (we want) to sell them at a good price,” he said.

Officials said there were concerns that the rice shipment, part of the P1.2 billion contraband from Vietnam that was seized by the BoC from March to April, have been exposed to the elements and in danger of rotting.

A top-ranked BOC official, who requested he not be named, said they want the public auction to push through because the National Food Authority (NFA) would be quoting a much lower amount should they be allowed to come in after two failed public auctions.

The BoC expects to earn an estimated P242 million from the second public auction of 312 container-loads of rice.

In the first public auction which was held in June, Deputy Customs Commissioner Danilo Lim said they earned P40.9 million, which was above the floor price of P35.7 million.

Biazon said the rice seizure in Cebu “is something to be proud of” but the pilferage issue detracted from the accomplishment.

“We cannot say that it is 100% free from corruption here (in Cebu) but it has always been a problem that there are smuggled goods that pass through the port.” he said.

Cebu Customs Collector Eduardo dela Cuesta said the interception of smuggled goods is “proof that there is no corruption here”.

“We are trying to (provide) a world class customs service,” he added.

Biazon meanwhile said, a total of 15 district collectors and 30 subport collectors have submitted letters expressing their willingness to relinquish their posts.

The commissioner last week gave the collectors until last Monday to submit their letters as part of a massive revamp of the bureau following a public bashing the agency got from President Aquino during his State of the Nation Address.

Biazon said he is satisfied with the performance of Dela Cuesta in Cebu, but he refused to say if he would be affected in the upcoming revamp.

“This change should start within ourselves, and each person is a part of the reform,” he said. “We should not give the public another reason to have a bad impression of the BOC.” / with an Inquirer report