Malacañang vows continued inspection of warehouses amid sugar shortage

PAMPANGA. Customs officials raided on Thursday, August 18, 2022, a warehouse in San Fernando, Pampanga where thousands of sacks of sugar are allegedly being hoarded, the Office of the Press Secretary said. (Photo by Bureau of Customs-Public Information and Assistance Division)
PAMPANGA. Customs officials raided on Thursday, August 18, 2022, a warehouse in San Fernando, Pampanga where thousands of sacks of sugar are allegedly being hoarded, the Office of the Press Secretary said. (Photo by Bureau of Customs-Public Information and Assistance Division)

THE Malacañang on Thursday, August 18, 2022, said there will be more inspections in warehouses of sugar amid the looming crisis for sweeteners in the country that caused prices to soar.

In a press conference, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said this is part of the order of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to exercise its visitorial powers in warehouses to check if sugar is being hoarded.

Authorities earlier found thousands of sacks of sugar with an estimated value of P220 million at warehouses in Pampanga and Bulacan.

The owners were given 15 days to provide proof of legitimacy of their items and their importation and to ensure that they were not being hoarded.

The BOC also intercepted a cargo vessel carrying over 7,000 metric tons of sugar, equivalent to 140,000 bags, imported from Thailand at the Subic Port. It has a total tax payment of P45,623,007.51.

It tagged the importation as an “attempted smuggling,” noting that the permit used was recycled.

“Initially, the said cargo vessel was allowed to discharge its load at 11 a.m. today (Thursday), cleared by SRA (Sugar Regulatory Authority) and BOC, because it was not covered by the failed attempt to import 300,000 MT of sugar. This means that the recycled permit was from an old allocation,” Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) officer-in-charge Joeffrey Tacio said.

The office of Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez said they received reports about a similar modus in which "recycled import permits" were allegedly used to smuggle sugar last week.

They identified a certain Boy and Reggie who use “Kysse Lish” and “Foxxie” as consignees to be responsible for the alleged illegal importation.

Angeles ensured that BOC personnel who will be proven to be in connivance with these smugglers will be removed from their office.

Rodriguez earlier said they are hoping that the conduct of raids and inspections will serve as a warning to unscrupulous traders who are currently hoarding their stocks of sugar to profit from the current artificial sugar shortage situation.

The country is experiencing a sugar shortage due to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette in 2021, which damaged sugarcane root crops.

Marcos said the country will import 150,000 MT of sugar, far from the 300,000 MT as indicated in the Sugar Order No. 4 issued by the Sugar Regulatory Board which has been aged by the Malacañang as void and illegal as it was not approved by the President who served as the board’s chairman as the concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture. (SunStar Philippines)

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