Customs to auction abandoned shipment

CEBU, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs in Cebu is set to auction more than 300 container vans of smuggled rice to decongest the Cebu International Port and generate revenues for the government.

Newly installed district collector Arnulfo Marcos said he will be hitting “three birds in one bullet” with his plan. Aside from the more than 300 containers of smuggled rice, there are also more than a thousand containers of various goods that were long abandoned by its consignees at the CIP which he also plan to dispose.

“So, once an auction will be done, naturally it will help decongest the CIP and third, we can generate more revenue for the government out of the proceeds of these auctions,” Marcos said.

Marcos said the rice shipment was apprehended sometime in 2013.

Meanwhile, a warrant of seizure and detention was issued yesterday against 56 container vans allegedly containing white sugar from Thailand.

Marcos said the shipment was apprehended after the consignee misdeclared it as Whey. Officials from the Sugar Regulatory Administration will inspect the shipment today before it will be forfeited in favor of the government.

Marcos hinted that government officials were involved in the sugar smuggling.

“Ang sabi big time official daw ang mga involved dito. Hindi ko lang alam kung saang government agency but definitely not from the BOC,” Marcos said.

Marcos was the former district collector of Subic Port. As the new collector in Cebu, he asked the support of the members of the Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc.-Cebu Chapter during its induction of officers and board of directors the other night.

More than a hundred active customs brokers in Cebu joined the event.  Marcos denied rumors that there are three favored brokers in Cebu because they were endorsed by a former district collector.

“My focus lang pagdating diyan is fair lahat. Fair lang dapat to everybody. Ang sa akin lang dapat tama yung mga valuation ng mga shipment at wala tayong problema diyan,” said Marcos. — (FREEMAN)