BOC sues 2 firms for illegal steel imports

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has sued the owners and customs brokers of two firms found to have allegedly illegally imported steel products into the country.

The BOC filed before the Department of Justice charges against Tessie Ligon, owner and proprietress of Archer Blaze Marketing, and the firm’s customs broker, Aloha Pamintuan.  Also charged were Echo Titan Marketing Resources’ owner Supan Miranda and its  customs broker, Junnil Andujar Rollon.

All four were found to have violated the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines for unlawful importation and the fraudulent filing of import documents. They are also facing charges for alleged violation of the Bureau of Product Standards Law for the attempt of a non-holder of an import commodity clearance (ICC) to import steel products without proper certification, and the Revised Penal Code for falsification of documents.

In addition, Miranda and Rollon are also facing additional charges for alleged misdeclaration of the weight and value of their shipments in violation of Section 2503 of the Tariff and Customs Code.

“The country imports a significant amount of steel products and there is strong demand for these. But we cannot be lax and allow uncertified steel products to enter the local market. Part of our mandate is to protect our people from cheap but unsafe products that could pose a risk to life and limb,” said Customs Commissioner John Sevilla.

Based on the complaint affidavit submitted by the BOC’s Intelligence Group, investigators found that Archer Blaze submitted fake documents including fake conditional release permits of the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS) to facilitate the firm’s importation of 47 20-foot containers of angle bars from China with a total value of P38.741 million. 

Respondents attached an allegedly fake letter supposedly from DTI-BPS addressed to Port of Manila Acting District Collector Mario Mendoza attesting to the authenticity of the conditional releases issued. The shipments arrived through the Port of Manila in four batches last June 10 and 14.

In the second case, Echo Titan misdeclared the product they imported as ‘steel round bars’ from China. However, upon inspection, customs examiners discovered that the shipment contained various steel products of various sizes including stainless steel flat bars, stainless steel angle bars, and stainless steel round bars. 

Import documents also showed grossly misdeclared weight and value of the goods inside one 40-foot and one 20-foot container vans in order to evade payment of the correct duties and taxes.