BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Iloilo recently seized an estimated P7 million worth of ukay-ukay items from a warehouse in Barangay Villamonte.
A composite team inspected the warehouse through a letter of authority signed by BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero.
They discovered bales of used clothing, shoes, bags, bed sheets, and curtains, among others.
An inventory was then conducted by the BOC Sub-Port of Pulupandan, which later estimated the value of the seized goods at more or less P7 million.
The BOC-Port of Iloilo added that an investigation is now being conducted for possible filing of charges against the owner of the seized goods for violation of Republic Act 4653 which “prohibits commercial importation of used clothing and rags to safeguard the health of the people and maintain the dignity of the nation.”
The law carries a maximum fine of P20,000 and a two- to five-year prison sentence.
A composite team which staged the raid was made up of personnel from BOC-Port of Iloilo’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Field Station, Enforcement and Security Service-Customs Police Division, Customs Border Protection District 6, Philippine National Police, and officials of Barangay Villamonte./PN
