Smuggled onions, potatoes seized

Saturday, February 4, 2012

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) Davao seized on Friday 23 container vans containing P18-million worth of potatoes and onions from Hong Kong and China.

Lawyer Martiniano B. Bancoy, district collector of the BOC Port of Davao, spearheaded the opening of the 23 30-footer container vans in the presence of the local media.

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The shipment contained potatoes and onions consigned to three consignees and misdeclared as margarine, lanolin, savory products, shortening and yeast.

The consignees were identified as Aya Trading, Alvee Trading, and D Golden House Trading Company.

Bancoy said the BOC will issue a warrant of seizure and detention for the shipment, after which, there will be seizure proceedings notifying the parties concerned.

"We are sending a strong message to all importers in Davao that from this time on, this port will not tolerate any misdeclared shipments," Bancoy said.

If the consignees won't appear in the hearings, Bagcoy said the goods will be forfeited in favor of the government and if intentional misdeclaration is proven, the port would initiate criminal cases smuggling against the consignees.

Misdeclaration of agricultural goods is detrimental to local farmers and also to public health as consignees would not pay proper taxes resulting in cheaper imported onions. The onions also do not follow stringent pyto-sanitary standards by the Department of Agriculture and could contain dangerous doses of chemicals like pesticides.

"The Bureau of Customs conducts a profiling to all incoming shipments, along with the law enforcement agency, and the assessment division. We came to a conclusion that these are all smuggled, as evident with the first unlocked container van," he said.

Being contraband perishable goods, the products will undergo condemnation proceedings, after which, these will be destroyed.

"Under the law, we cannot auction these to generate income for the government," he said.

Meanwhile, lawyer Edward Dybuco, chief of staff of the BOC Port of Davao, said misdeclaration of imported goods is considered smuggling.

"There are two kinds of smuggling and these are pure smuggling and technical smuggling," Dybuco said while elaborating technical smuggling into three types -- misclassification, misdeclaration, and undervaluation.

The intercepted imported goods, which consignees misdeclared, are classified under technical smuggling.

"Owners didn't declare it as agricultural products because it's much easier for them to transport these goods, even without a permit from Customs," Dybuco said, pointing out that importation of agricultural products is prohibited by the Department of Agriculture.