THE Bureau of Customs revocation of Acquarius Container Yard (ACY) as the Designated Examination Area for all imported goods entering the port of Davao violates court orders, a lawyer said.
“The BOC has defied the temporary restraining order of the courts, and it continues to do so,” Lawyer Mercedita Barrios-Talaver, said during the Club 888 press forum at the Marco Polo Davao Wednesday.
Talaver is the legal counsel of owner Rodolfo Reta. She vowed to exhaust all legal means to protect her client’s rights despite Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales’s issuance of an order last Friday.
Morales in March 5 order said the refusal of ACY owner Reta to operate in the morning of February 26, "is an act that the BOC cannot countenance."
Talaver, together with lawyer and Ateneo Law School dean Manuel Quibod, said the actions of the BOC are contrary to the relief provided for by the court.
“The issue with the contract is still pending before the court,” Talaver said.
Moreover, the Customs Brokers, who are the ones suffering in the ruckus between ACY and BOC have lauded the decision of Morales to move the examination of their container vans inside the Sasa Wharf.
The same group has submitted a letter supporting the Port of Davao collector, Lawyer Anju Nereo Castigador, who earlier ordered that all inspections be made inside the wharf following the alleged stopping of operations at ACY.
Talaver said the court has presently ordered a status quo order at the Port of Davao and that a temporary restraining order has been issued that will end on March 21. (CPM)