P400-M IMPORTED RICE, OTHER GOODS SEIZED IN TONDO

BY LEX MANALO

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Saturday seized around P400 million worth of rice and other imported products in anti-smuggling operations on three warehouses in Tondo, Manila.

BOC Commissioner Bien Rubio said confiscated during the raid were some P310 million worth of imported children’s toys, cosmetics, kitchenware, household wares, videoke machine, fabrics, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, shoes, apparel, and general merchandise.

Also confiscated were 36,086 sacks of imported rice from Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar worth P90.2 million.

“While our government and countrymen scramble to make rice cheaper and more accessible, these businesses are possibly smuggling and hoarding them, which further adversely impacts our efforts to bring the prices down,” the Customs chief said.

The BOC has intensified its campaign against smuggling of rice and other agricultural products following an order from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. amid reports of smuggling and hoarding, particularly of rice.

According to Intelligence Group Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy, the operation stemmed from intelligence reports that rice and other smuggled items are being stored in warehouses in Tondo.

Armed with a Letter of Authority (LOA) signed by Rubio, agents of the  Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) swooped down on the three warehouses located on Antonio Rivera St. and Dagupan St. in Tondo on Sept. 16. 

“We were expecting to find rice, but it was still disappointing to see tens of thousands of sacks of rice in these storage areas, especially since our very own people are clamoring for more supply and to bring the prices down further even amid the price ceiling we now have,” Uy said.