THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) is looking into information that a “Chinese mafia” is supposedly involved in rice smuggling in the country.
BOC director Vernie Enciso on Saturday, Sept. 23, said they have received reports regarding the issue.
“’Yung mga reports na nare-receive po ng office natin, binabanggit nga po mga Chinese,” Enciso said during a news forum in Quezon City.
He added: “Either nasa side ng financing, nasa side ng distribution or nasa side ng, there are other, maraming levels kung nasaan sila present dito sa agricultural smuggling. ‘Yan po ang isa sa mga tinitignan ng Bureau of Customs.”
BOC said their raids in dubious warehouses are continuing and that from August to today, they have seized 236,571 sacks of smuggled rice from four warehouses in Bulacan, 36,000 sacks from Tondo, Manila, and 20,000 sacks from Las Piñas and Bacoor, Cavite.
Enciso said presented documents and actual imports in the warehouses did not match.
For lawyer Marlon Agaceta, BOC’s chief of staff, it was hard to determine the source of the smuggled rice and who were behind this.
“Medyo mahaba pong proseso to conclude na ah ito lumusot to sa pantalan,” Agaceta said.
“May mga small boats na lumalapit sa vessel doon na tinatapon ang bigas….’Yung mga smugglers po, nagtatago sila sa likod-likod. They usually use dummies.”
Proving the guilt of someone is also a tedious process.
“Because of new policy of DOJ (Department of Justice) that BOC is being required to file cases na may reasonable certainty of conviction, so nagiging more diligent ‘yung mga lawyers handling these particular cases before they can initiate formal complaints para po hindi rin masayang ang pagfa-file. Kaya po nagkakaron ng karagdagang oras in collating additional pieces of evidence,” Agaceta said.
For 2023, BOC has filed 53 cases involving 416 importers and forfeited agricultural products worth more than P612 million.
Two things are done to seize smuggled rice — either auctioned off or donated to different government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Social Welfare spokesperson Romel Lopez said they are thankful for the donation and immediately distribute the rice to poor beneficiaries.
As for the P15,000 cash aid to rice retailers, Lopez said they have given this to more than 6,000 retailers. Their maximum target of beneficiaries is 30,000 by the end of the month. (ABS-CBN News)
