BOC-IG leads in seizure of P2 billion ‘fake’ goods
BOC on historic 11-month surplus collection roll
THE Intelligence Group of the Bureau of Customs (BOC-IG) again recorded a major accomplishment after a raid in Baclaran, Parañaque City, last June 3, 2021, resulted to the confiscation of counterfeit consumer products worth more than P2 billion, the biggest haul thus far this year.
Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence (DCI) Raniel Ramiro said that armed with a ‘Letter of Authority’ (LOA) signed by Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero, units under his office—the Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) and the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), along with other operatives from the Port of Manila (POM), swooped down at several storage facilities in the Baclaran area and found various items bearing known registered trademarks such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Onitsuka Tiger, Vans, Adidas, Nike, JBL, Sony and Jordan, among others.
The team also discovered counterfeit personal care products such as, Cetaphil, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Vaseline, Jergens, Dove, Nivea, Glutamax, Kojic, Joe Malone, Bulgari, D&G, Channel, Victoria’s Secret, Hugo Boss, and Clinique.
The imported items were seized for possible violations of Section 118 (f) of RA 10863 also known as the ‘Customs Modernization and Tariff Act’ (CMTA) and, RA 8293 also known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (IPCP).
“The seizure is one of the bureau’s biggest seizures of counterfeit goods (for) 2021,” Ramiro said, as he also noted that the fake perfumes, cosmetics and beauty products they seized potentially contain toxic chemicals that may be harmful to health.
Last week’s accomplishment is nearly 6 times more in terms of value and volume compared to the more than P300 million worth of counterfeit goods the IG also seized last May 7, 2021 in an operation at several warehouses in nearby Pasay City.
At the level of intensity that the BOC-IG is carrying out Guerrero’s mandate to combat smuggling, observers are no longer surprised if the agency also surpassed its own record of nearly P10 billion worth of seized smuggled goods last year.
‘Historic monthly surplus collection roll’
On revenue, the BOC, under Guerrero, has also been consistent in overpassing its assigned monthly collection, registering a surplus collection of P3.05 billion for the month of May.
BOC spokesperson, Atty. Vincent ‘Jett’ Maronilla, citing data from the Financial Management Service (FMS) said the surplus is equivalent to 6.6 percent positive deviation from their assigned target of P46.276 billion. The BOC actually collected P49.334 billion, he noted.
The accomplishment has also placed the agency on an 11-month surplus collection roll, since June 2020, records also show, a first in the entire history of the Philippine customs bureau.
The accomplishment has also placed the agency on an 11-month surplus collection roll, since June 2020, records also show, a first in the entire history of the Philippine customs bureau, even during the time of Pres. Fidel V. Ramos, when the BOC had to hire the service of an expensive private pre-shipment inspector (PSI) to generate additional revenue.
To date, the BOC has already collected P249.793 billion since January, equivalent to 40.5 percent of its 2021 target collection of P616.749 billion.
Maronilla said that contributing to the bureau’s performance are the additional P86.26 million
In additional duties and taxes collected for the month by the Post Audit Clearance Group (PCAG) under his office and the P50.16 collection from the ‘TEF’ (tax expenditure fund) that pertains to revenues due from importations of other government agencies.
Based also on the FMS report, 12 of the bureau’s 17 collection districts exceeded their target for the month, namely:
Port of Subic, Port of San Fernando, Port of Manila, MICP, Port of Batangas, Port of Legaspi, Port of Iloilo, Port of Tacloban, Port of Surigao, Port of Cagayan de Oro, Port of Davao and, Port of Clark.
In a brief statement, Guerrero again commended the efforts of the various port district collectors and the men and women of the bureau who, despite the risk to their health and safety, showed their unwavering commitment and dedication to service.
