SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Bureau of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma led on Friday the viewing of 3 shipments here seized by the Port of Subic headed by District Collector Fidel Villanueva IV for violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of 2016 and related laws.
The first shipment involved the importation of 10’x20’ container van of Thailand white rice, with an estimated value of P10 million, without the required import permit from the NFA. The consignee, the Philippine International Trading Corp., the trading arm of the DTI, through its president, Dave M. Almarinez, promptly denied ownership of the confiscated items and manifested their full cooperation for the immediate disposition of the case, according to the BOC.
The next shipment covered 18 units of scooters which was part of the 112 units of brand new Vespa scooters from Italy, with an estimated value of P30 million. The said shipment was seized and eventually forfeited in favor of the government for gross underevaluation thru falsification of import documents, resulting to discrepancy of more than 70 percent of the duties and taxes due.
The third set of items viewed consisted of expensive liquors and several other spirits (Remy Martin, Martin, etc.) which were initially admitted into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone for storage and eventually re-exportation abroad. BOC said in order to avoid payment of duties and taxes, the items were boarded in a closed van, and attempted to be spirited out of the SBFZ. The 8,865 bottles of various liquors and spirits were initially estimated to be valued at around P40 million.
The BOC said the confiscated items are already being prepared for auction, especially the white rice and liquors, which are perishable in nature, in order to protect the interest of the government.
