THE government thru the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Collection District of the Bureau of Customs (NAIA-BOC) is now on high alert for the possible entry of poultry products from Latin American countries following reports they are ‘couriers’ of the COVID-19 virus.
The restriction is based on the order coming from the Department of Agriculture (DA) claiming shipments of ‘chicken wings,’ particularly from Brazil, were found positive for the COVID-19 virus.
In compliance with previous restrictions issued by the government, the collection district has so far confiscated 775.6 kilos of meat products that arrived in the country without clearance from the DA since the start of the year, noted district collector, Atty. Carmelita ‘Mimel’ Talusan.
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner and concurrent BOC spokesman, Atty. Vincent Maronilla, announced the success of the government’s ‘fuel marking program’ (FMP) covering all petroleum products.
Citing data provided by the Enforcement Group under Deputy Commissioner Atty. Teddy Raval, Maronilla said that as of August 6, 2020, revenue collected from the program already reached P97.191 billion.
He added the revenue corresponds to the more than 10.9 billion liters of petroleum products covered by the program.
20 companies have already joined the FMP, including Petron, Shell and Unioil. The three companies reported the highest volume of marked fuel of 2.5 billion liters, 2.26 billion liters and, 1.14 billion liters, respectively.
By island group, Maronilla said Luzon has the largest volume of marked fuel at 8 billion liters, followed by Mindanao at 2.19 billion liters, then Visayas at 539 million liters.
The program was launched to curb the illicit trade in petroleum products and generate more revenues for the government, It is being implemented by the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.