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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Customs places seized guns on hold
A hold order has been issued against the high-powered firearms intercepted by the Police Center for Aviation Security (PCAS) 7 at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport last Friday.
Port of Mactan Deputy Collector Abubakar Hamad signed the order last Aug. 28 in behalf of District Collector Ricardo Belmonte.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) received the order.
Franz Muñoz, supervisor of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), said the PNP’s Firearms, Explosive and Security Agency/Guards Supervisory Section (Fesagss) is coordinating with the customs bureau to determine whether the firearms were smuggled.
Documents
Davao-based Kadayawan Security and Investigation Agency sent 12 AK 47 rifles with 680 rounds, two HK 53 submachine guns with 40 cartridges, M16-A1 rifles with 160 rounds and five 12-gauge shotguns to Cebu for its branch, the Davao Security and Investigation Agency (DASIA) based in Lapu-Lapu City.
Members of PCAS 7 at the airport held the firearms because the documents they showed were photocopies. In transporting firearms, original documents should be presented.
Police also require the agency to inform the regional office before any shipment is made, which the agency failed to do.
The agency may be fined P5,000 for their failure to register their operations in Cebu, said Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas. He said this is the amount he will recommend to Police Regional Office 7 Director Silverio Alarcio Jr. for a less grave offense.
Alarcio has yet to sign the recommendation as he was visiting police stations in northern Cebu.
Before releasing any firearms, Fesagss 7 will also inspect Kadayawan’s branch office to see if it has an appropriate storage facility for the high-powered firearms they shipped from Davao.
“Part of the function of our office is to ensure the agency has a vault that can withstand any threat of pilferage,” Lawas told radio dyLA yesterday.
Lawas met with representatives of the agency yesterday morning and said they presented to him the original documents, showing that the transport of firearms was legal.
He said representatives of the agency were willing to pay the fine and accept that they committed procedural violations to speed up the release of the firearms. Because they admitted committing some violations, Lawas said the investigation will be concluded faster.
Despite that, Kadayawan may not easily get off the hook.
Customs officials suspect that the imported firearms are illegally sourced and said the BOC, not the PNP, has jurisdiction over them pursuant to the Tariff and Customs code.
Muñoz said the BOC will require Kadayawan to produce documents to show how it acquired the firearms.
The BOC will issue a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD) against the firearms if the security agency fails to show proof that it paid duties and taxes to the government for the importation of the firearms.
Even if Kadayawan purchased the firearms from dealers who evaded paying duties and taxes, and even if the agency is considered “buyers in good faith,” the firearms can still be forfeited in favor of the government because the tax liability is always attached to subject items, said an official who refused to be named.
Requirement
The customs hold order will prevent Fesagss from releasing the firearms, otherwise they can be criminally and administratively charged under the Tariff and Customs Code.
Another customs official wondered why Camp Crame issued license to the firearms without the required certificate of payment of duties and taxes, especially that AK-47 are manufactured only in Israel and Russia.
He said the BOC will also look into reports that the firearms were smuggled and imported without the permit of purchase firearms and ammunition, which must be issued in three copies: one for the firearm dealer, another for the purchaser and the third for Fesagss. (EOB/MEA)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 30, 2006 issue)
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