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Six containers were seized at the Port of Cagayan de Oro
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The containers were declared to contain soft tortilla wrap
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In reality, they contained red and white onions estimated to be worth P18 million
The Bureau of Customs-Port of Cagayan de Oro on July 28 seized anew six containers of smuggled agricultural products at Mindanao Container Terminal (MCT) Port, PHIVIDEC Compound in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
The shipments arrived on July 23 from China and were declared to contain “Soft Tortilla Wrap” but actually carried red and white onions estimated to be worth about P18 million, BOC said in a statement.
They were consigned to Primex Export and Import Producer. This consignee had also earlier been flagged at the Port of Cagayan de Oro for alleged smuggling of agricultural products.
Following receipt of derogatory information on their contents, the latest containers seized were subjected to 100% physical examination. Pre-Lodgment Control Orders were issued by district collector Atty. Elvira Cruz.
The examination was conducted by the assigned Customs Examiners and witnessed by collector Cruz; Atty. Marrieta Zamoranos, MCT Sub-port Collector; Oliver Valiente, Chief, CIIS-Cagayan de Oro (CDO); SP/Lt. Arkhan Macaombang, Deputy District Commander, ESS-CDO; Manuel Barradas, Bureau of Plant Industry; Agent Michael Balbastro, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 10; Ronie Gutang, Mindanao Container Terminal Services Inc; and Raymundo Maquiling Jr., Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc.
Collector Cruz reiterated her warning against unscrupulous importers, saying that agricultural smuggling greatly affects locally produced agricultural products that cannot compete with illegally imported goods.
Amid the clamor to donate the seized containers, Manuel Barradas, Supervising Agriculturist at the Bureau of Plant Industry, said the only option was to destroy the products or return them to their origin which could be costly.
“We don’t know what pest and disease these might bring that would infect our other crops here in Mindanao. This would also pose human risk because we don’t know what preservatives or chemical they used, this is a hazard to our consumers,” said Barradas.
A Warrant of Seizure and Detention will be issued against the shipments for violation of Section 1400 of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.
On July 22, three containers consigned to Frankie Trading Enterprises declared as “Yung Butter/Dairy Spreads” were also seized by BOC-Port of Cagayan de Oro. They were later found to contain onions labeled as “pears”.
