THE Bureau of Customs in Subic Freeport received commendations from a Japanese business group for its effective campaign against fake cigarettes.

The special commendations were given to Collector Maritess Martin and her team at the Clark Marriott Hotel. Because of the government’s policy in the implementation of minimum health protocols, the meeting lasted only a few minutes.

Martin said the commendations were from JT International (JTI) Philippines, Inc., a member of the Japan Tobacco Group of Companies, that manufactures and distributes world-renowned tobacco brands and has operations in more than 120 countries.

Awarded were Port’s District Collector Martin; Deputy Collectors for Assessment, Operations and Administration, Maita S. Acevedo; Atty. Giovanni Ferdinand Leynes and Atty. Aileen Tortoles, the Port’s Law Division Chief Atty. Willie B. Sarmiento; as well as the POS’ Enforcement and Security Service headed by Capt. Regino A. Tuason, and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, headed by IO3 Verne Y. Enciso , and the rest of the Alerting Team.

Martin noted that the commendations signify the Japanese trust and support to the commitment of the BOC to intensify efforts in border protection, which resulted in the seizure and forfeiture of five different shipments of assorted illicit and counterfeit cigarettes amounting to P201 million in market value for the month of September 2020.

The Port eventually gained a total of P305,538,075.50 cumulative market value from all the seized and forfeited various shipments from January to November 2020.

“The awards even inspire us in the Bureau to be more vigilant and to work harder in protecting our borders against dishonest businessmen who will try and again to sneak into the country counterfeit goods that badly affect our local manufacturers,” Martin said. (Ric Sapnu)