Customs urged to distribute seized rice to residents

A MEMBER of the City Council of Cagayan de Oro appealed to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Northern Mindanao to distribute the bags of rice it earlier confiscated to the people of the city.

Councilor Juan Sia, chair of the committee on commerce and trade, filed a resolution on Tuesday, copy furnished to the office of President Benigno Aquino III, asking the BOC to distribute the confiscated rice to the residents.

In February, customs officials seized at least 17,500 smuggled bags of Indian white rice at the Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

The smuggled rice contained in 20 container vans arrived at the MCT last November 22, 2012 with no official documents while another 15 container vans arrived on November 29, 2012.

The twin shipments, according to Cagayan de Oro District Collector Lourdes Mangaoang, were already overstaying as the consignee failed to appear for the release within the maximum period provided by law.

Prior to the seizure of the P26 million worth of rice, the BOC also seized 5,000 bags of smuggled imported rice worth P9 million loaded inside 10 to 20-footer container vans that were earlier placed under custody at the MCT port also in February of this year.

Mangaoang earlier said that the smuggled rice will be auctioned to raise additional revenues for the government. (Abigail Chee Kee Malalis/Annabelle Ricalde)