THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has seized another foreign vessel doing dredging works at the Cagayan River for unpaid taxes and duties while 3 more traders and their customs brokers were slapped with smuggling charges before the Department of Justice last week.
In a statement last October 9, 2021, the BOC said that Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero last September 14, 2021, already issued a ‘LOA’ (Letter of Authority) for the personnel of the Port of Appari to board and inspect the ‘M/V Warrior 6’ that has been doing dredging works at the Cagayan River for quite some time now.
Appari district collector, Arinieto Claveria, in his report to Guerrero, said he decided to issue an ‘WSD’ (warrant of seizure and detention) against the vessel last October 5, 2021, for violation of several provisions of Section 1113 of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) and based on the recommendation of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), Manila International Container Port.
“Despite the bad weather and against the big waves of the Aparri Delta, the BOC Aparri Enforcement and Port Operations personnel, in coordination with the Philippine National Police-Maritime Group, served the WSD order to Captain Felito C. Padayao, Master of the said vessel,” Claveria informed the customs chief.
Claveria added they also conducted an inventory of other dutiable goods or articles on-board the said vessel, which is now anchored at the Cagayan River Offshores, Aparri, Cagayan under the custody of Customs Police Division-Enforcement and Security Service (CPD-ESS) Aparri District Office with the assistance from the local unit of the Philippine Coast Guard.
Claveria said they are also waiting for a representative of the Sandraw Movers and Development Corporation, one of the claimants of the seized foreign vessel, to show up and receive the seizure order.
The seizure of the M/V Rainbow 6 thus far brought to six the number of foreign vessels the BOC had seized in the last two months.
It can be recalled that last August 23, 2021, four vessels were also confiscated by the BOC at the MICP (Pinoy Exposé article of August 23, 2021) while another vessel was also confiscated at the Port of Manila on its arrival from Iloilo last September 28, 2021 (Pinoy Exposé Volume 2, Issue No. 39).
3 more traders, brokers sued for smuggling
Meanwhile, in a separate statement last October 5, 2021, the bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS) announced the filing three separate smuggling cases against three traders and their respective customs brokers for the foiled smuggling attempts of various commercial goods valued at more than P12 million.
The first case is against ‘RJTH International Consumer Goods Trading’ for misdeclaring its shipment of “disassembled bicycles” at the Port of Manila last July 11, 2021, reportedly worth more than P4.2 million.
The second case is against ‘CLIP-RITE INDUSTRIES’ also for misdeclaring its shipment of aluminum profiles worth more than P4.45 million last August 8, 2021, also at the POM.
The last case is against ‘AUREAM Agricultural Products Trading,’ for the alleged misdeclaration and unlawful importation of 4,237 cartons of frozen mackerel amounting to over P3.4 million at the Manila International Container Port last August 23, 2021.