44,000 sacks seized in separate raids of two warehouses in C. Luzon
Customs agents, police and soldiers seized 44,000 sacks of imported sugar with an estimated value of P220 million in separate raids on warehouses in Bulacan and Pampanga on Thursday, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to find out who was hoarding the commodity.
“The BoC’s Pampanga sugar warehouse raid may very well serve as a warning to unscrupulous traders who are currently hoarding their stocks of sugar in order to profit from the current artificial sugar shortage,” Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez said.
He said the government will continue going after unscrupulous traders jacking up prices of food items, particularly sugar, as consumers continue to feel the burden of rising costs.
Rodriguez said his office is also investigating reports that the aborted importation of 300,000 metric tons of sugar was meant to provide cover for traders so they could release their hoarded sugar without depressing prices.
The BOC agents were assisted by barangay officials and the local unit of the Philippine National Police.
Customs personnel immediately seized suspected hoarded sacks of imported sugar from Thailand neatly stockpiled by the thousands inside the warehouse.
They also seized hundreds of sacks of sugar found loaded inside delivery vans.
The warehouse owners were given 15 days to prove the items were legally imported into the country.
Aside from sugar, sacks of cornstarch from China, sacks of imported flour, plastic products, oil in plastic barrels, motorcycle parts and wheels of different brands, helmets, LED televisions sets and paints were also found in the warehouse.
A BOC statement said agents found 44,000 sacks of imported sugar in the two warehouses.
A certain Victor Teng Chua, the alleged owner of the warehouse in Bulacan, was invited to San Jose del Monte Police Station for questioning due to the lack of a permit from the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA), the BOC said.
Acting Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz assured the public that the BOC would remain relentless in conducting operations against smuggling.
Ruiz said that failure to present import documents and proof of payment of duties and taxes on the seized articles would cause the issuance of a warrant of seizure and detention.
To address the problems hounding the sugar industry, the President met with stakeholders and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri in the Palace Wednesday night.
Zubiri described as “very productive” the two-hour meeting, which started at 5 p.m.
“I led a delegation of stakeholders from the farmers, millers, sugar workers and refiners to consult with the President on the issues of importation and productivity,” said Zubiri.
He said they first thanked the President for rejecting excessive importation of sugar, which would hurt hundreds of thousands of farmers and farm workers.
“We however acknowledged the need to import a smaller amount of sugar for industrial and household consumers,” Zubiri said.
He noted that the consensus using available data was to import only 150,000 MT, which was half of the 300,000 MT that was stipulated in the aborted SRA order.
Zubiri said there were other initiatives recommended to the President to ease the increase of sugar prices, “but we will let the President make the announcement at the proper time.”
“What is important is that all the stakeholders came together to propose concrete short-term and long-term solutions on the sugar situation,” he said.
He said this is looking for the “sweet spot” between producers and consumers.
Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the President to fix the “deeply problematic” leadership issues in the Department of Agriculture (DA), and appoint an Agriculture secretary who would focus on preventing an impending crisis in sugar and other essential products.
She said the recent controversy involving an unauthorized order by the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) shows the need for a revamp of the leadership structure of the DA and its attached agencies, especially with the looming shortage and skyrocketing sugar prices in the country.
“This fiasco with the SRA is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the chaotic organization and operation of the DA,” she said.
She noted that the President should reconsider his position as concurrent DA chief and appoint a competent person who would take charge of the department.
