BOC officer faces probe over illegal fertilizer imports

MANILA, Philippines - An officer of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is facing preliminary investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman for alleged involvement in the illegal importation of fertilizers.

In a statement, the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS), the anti-corruption unit of the Department of Finance (DOF), said it had filed a complaint against Joselyn Mendoza Estigoy, a Customs operations officer at Poro Point in La Union.

The complaint will be the basis for the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct a preliminary investigation on the matter.

According to the RIPS statement, Estigoy allegedly violated Sec. 3 (e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act when she allowed a company, which imported some 8,000 metric tons of fertilizers, not to pay tax and duties.

RIPS said Estigoy allegedly allowed tax exemption to Norsk Hydro (Phils.) Inc. for its importation of fertilizers. This, the agency pointed out, resulted in P20.7 million worth of unpaid taxes and duties.

However, RIPS said Norsk’s shipments should not have been exempt from taxes because the tax-exempt documents the company used were allegedly forged.

“Hence, respondent had been grossly negligent in the performance of her duty as examiner which deprived the government of substantial revenues. As examiner, respondent is expected to observe and abide by the provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines,” RIPS said.

According to Estigoy’s sworn statement, the previous shipments of the company were tax exempt. Estigoy said the company documents certifying that the shipments were tax-exempt.