About two weeks ago, the Bureau of Customs said that it has filed smuggling charges against certain officials of port operator Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) for allegedly conniving with several importers and customs brokers to cause the illegal release of 105 containers in the Port of Manila despite a standing alert order.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said that the officers of the six corporations, with the assistance of their customs brokers and the ATI, connived to secure the release of the containers from the ATI premises without the necessary examination. The BOC pointed out that as part of the protocol, all alerted shipments must be subjected to 100 percent examination before their release.
Lapeña emphasized that the illegal withdrawal of the subject containers from China violated Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, particularly Sec. 1401 on unlawful importation or exportation and Sec. 1424 on removing goods from customs custody.
According to BOC, among those charged are ATI assistant vice president for South Harbor operations Steve Realuyo and shift manager Darwin Dalmacio, and the owners, officials and customs brokers of Premiere Oak Lumber, Spectrum Highlands, Megaabundancesteel Indent Trading, Abundancegain Indent Trading, Paragon Platinum and Imperialfoods.
We are just wondering why no copies of the smuggling charges have been furnished ATI to this day.
I also talked to some customs sources and they said that in this particular case, there was an order from BOC itself to have the said shipments released.
They said that companies like ATI, which strictly follow corporate governance policies, would not release shipments without instructions from the BOC, especially if there is a hold order.
An article by portcalls.com also noted that the 105 containers were released by the ATI only after it received the release instruction from BOC’s electronic-to-mobile (e2m) systems.
The online publication also quoted ATI as stating that it released the containers only after BOC issued a release instruction through the online release system (OLRS) over which ATI does not have any control. The port operator added that release through the OLRS means that all duties and taxes have been paid and that there are no holds on the container.
Portcalls.com said that while BOC has said earlier that even though the duties and taxes of the 105 containers had been paid, alert orders were issued afterwards because the containers were found to be grossly undervalued, ATI explained that under Customs Memorandum Order 35-2015, once an OLRS release has been issued, a shipment can only be held through a special stop placed by the customs commissioner, which ATI said was not issued.
According to the memorandum order “no alert orders shall be issued against shipments which have already been tagged on the OLRS. The alerting office who finds reasonable grounds to hold a shipment already tagged in the OLRS, shall make a recommendation to the Office of the Commissioner for issuance of special stop.”
The article quoted ATI as saying that “contrary to earlier statements, there is nothing in ATI’s record to show that any ATI employee was responsible for the lifting of any alert on cargoes,” and that “the tagging and untagging of cargoes in the terminal’s system is pursuant to instructions from the BOC and based on documentation issued by the bureau.”
Lapeña has said that investigations show that ATI’s Dalmacio untagged in ATI’s system the alert label on the shipments which prompted their release, but ATI maintained that Dalmacio does not lift any alerts and merely receives documents from BOC and implements contained instructions in the normal course of business, following established practices, the article said.
I don’t know, but something tells me that there is more to this than meets the eye.
I was told that BOC personnel are definitely involved and may have forged documents that caused ATI to release the shipments.
There is also this theory that BOC may not be able to meet its collection targets and is therefore finding somebody to blame.
Conspiracy theorists are also saying that ATI may have ruffled someone’s feathers and this someone is trying to get back at ATI one way or the other.
Commissioner Lapeña should look into this matter carefully and not just point an accusing finger without sufficient basis.
Not so hidden agenda
The University of the Philippines Law Batch ’93 Alumni Association is sponsoring “Trumperte,” a new show by comedian Jon Santos, to be held on May 12, 2018, 8 p.m. at Teatrino, Greenhills. It is directed by Michael Williams. Ticket prices are from P1,500 to P2,500. For tickets, contact Atty. Ador Tolentino, 0917-5304165, Atty. Mabel Villarica-Mamba, 0917-8542596; or Atty. Owen Disini at 09985300566.
According to Atty. Tolentino, the Trumperte show is part of the UP Law Class 1993’s fund raising efforts for an intended legacy project of the class for its alma mater, the UP College of Law, in celebration of the batch’s silver graduation anniversary. As silver jubilarians, UP Class ’93 will host the annual UP Law Alumni Association Homecoming on Nov. 23, 2018 at the Shangri-La Hotel BGC. The president of the UP Law Class ’93 Association is class valedictorian Atty. Pia Pena-Lacson.
Sometime in August, the group will hold another fundraiser, the Malcolm Cup, an annual golf tournament. Details of this other event will follow.
For comments, e-mail at mareyes@philstarmedia.com