Over 400T bags of rice ‘kept’ at CIP for lack of proper documents

ASIDE from the three million bags of imported rice in National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses that will be used up by Region 7 consumers in 65 days, about 900 container vans of imported Vietnam rice are stocked at Cebu International Port (CIP).

However, these could not be released for lack of proper documentation.

Updates on President Benigno Aquino III's presidency

NFA 7 Director Danilo Bunabon said at an 888 News Forum last month that there would be millions of bags of rice arriving.

Yesterday, Bunabon, who is now assigned in NFA-Bicol, confirmed the Vietnam rice at CIP is “consigned to NFA for the account of a private group” under the so-called NFA

Private Sector Finance Rice Importation Program.

But he said he has no details on why the rice stocked at CIP was not released by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) even if the importation was done last June yet.

However, a BOC source, who requested anonymity, said the release of the rice shipment was held in abeyance because the new NFA leadership, upon instructions of President Benigno Aquino III, wants to review the scheme.

The source said the Aquino administration and newly-installed NFA Administrator Lito Banayo want to know why the NFA pays millions in duties and taxes to the BOC when private individuals, who finance the rice importation under the NFA, are the ones who profit.

BOC Port of Cebu District Collector Ronnie Silvestre said that based on the report he received, the processor of the customs broker who handled the release of the shipment ran off with the P2 million processing fees.

This compounded the problem and delayed the documentation.

At 500 bags per 20-footer container van, a source at the customs enforcement sector said there are 450,000 bags of rice at the CIP. If sold at P1,000 per bag, their total value is P450 million.

Customs records show that last July or before the order to hold the release of the rice shipment came out, 811 container vans of imported rice from Vietnam consigned to NFA under the same group of private persons were released by the CIP.

Silvestre ordered the Encoding and Processing Unit (EPU) to explain why they reported that there is no pending rice shipment when there are 900 vans at the CIP.

The EPU chief told Silvestre there was no record of the shipment because the NFA and the private group have not yet filed the mandatory import entry documents.

Under the Tariff and Customs Code, a shipment without import entry documents within 30 days can be automatically seized by the BOC.

Silvestre, a lawyer, said he will determine whether the shipment should be issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention. (EOB)