BOC-Tacloban dumps 982 sacks of rotten rice

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — Exactly five years after, nearly thousand sacks of rice were found rotten and had to be buried at the dumpsite of Tacloban City last Friday.

The Bureau of Customs-Tacloban disposed the 982 sacks of rotten rice, which was stockpiled at the back of its compound after these were seized at the Tacloban seaport in July 13, 2013 for lack of import documents.

Hired dump trucks were used by the BOC to take the sacks of rotten rice out of its compound and transport these to the dump where it was eventually buried.

BOC-Tacloban deputy collector Deogenes “Deony” Senita said the dumping of the rice started in the morning, with each truckload carrying 200 sacks, and lasted until the afternoon. The rotten rice, exposed from the sacks upon dumping into the ground, were seen already powdery and yellowish like milled yellow corn.

Senita said the sacks of rice shipment arrived at the Tacloban Port on July 13, 2013 but were seized by the BOC due to lack of an import permit. The stocks were partially saturated with seawater at the time, he said.

Super-typhoon Yolanda struck Tacloban on November 8 that year, or almost four months after the confiscation, thus the sacks of rice were already in custody of the BOC at the time of the disaster. After Yolanda, the government in its relief operation also failed to use the rice to feed the hungry calamity survivors.

Senita explained that, in February 17, 2014, the BOC started forfeiture proceedings and, on April 3, ruled that the shipment was forfeited in favor of the government because there was no owner or claimant that appeared. The next day (April 4), the shipment was opened for public auction, but then there was no bidder who participated.

Thus, from 2013 to this year, the sacks of rice remained untouched at the BOC compound until these decomposed. Senita said the government’s forfeiture process is lengthy and very strict, the reason why the protracted litigation and disposal of the shipment that resulted in the rotten rice.

Senita admitted that the rice went to waste instead of it being used by the Yolanda survivors in their time of need, but said the BOC could not do otherwise, except to follow the law.