The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed four cases against three individuals who were allegedly behind the smuggling of more than 2,000 sacks of rice that were discovered recently from warehouses located in Bulacan.
The filing of cases came in the wake of criticisms from Sen. Chiz Escudero who claimed that Customs authorities have failed in prosecuting smugglers despite the confiscation of huge stocks of imported rice from several warehouses not only in Bulacan but also from Zamboanga City.
Escudero also dared the BOC officials to disclose the identities of the personalities behind the multi-bilyon peso rice smuggling scheme.
“The Bureau of Customs Bureau Action Team Against Smuggling (BATAS), that’s the anti-smuggling arm of the Bureau of Customs, nakapag-file po kami ng four cases, particularly po ito iyong sa rice,” Atty. William Balayo, acting director of BOC Legal Service, said.
“Ang particular factual backdrop po nito, ito po iyong mga ni-raid noong August 24 sa Bulacan and pardon me po kung hindi ko mapapangalanan iyong mga akusado. Nonetheless po, we are happy to state that ito pong pinaylan (file) po namin ng cases. Tatlo po dito ay iyong economic sabotage,” he added.
According to Balayo, the three cases are considered large-scale offenses while the other was degraded to violation of Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) for failure to meet the P10-million threshold although it also falls under the category of smuggling of agricultural products.
Balayo expressed hope that the public will understand that the BOC, under the leadership of Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, is trying its best to stop all kinds of smuggling, particularly those involving rice products.