BoC-Mactan holds release of van despite court order

Collector Ernesto Urbano of the Bureau of Customs-Port of Mactan stopped the release of a container van to its owners yesterday despite an order from the court to do so.

Urbano said that he is holding the release of the van since this is the first time that he learned about this and he cannot give clearance until he evaluates the documents.

Image Autoparts and Hydraulic Center owns the contents of the container van.Pedro Leslie Salva, legal counsel of Julian Tan, Tommy Ong, and others said that BOC-Port of Mactan is not a party to the case filed by Lear Automotive Services Netherlands B.V. Philippines and it has no legal personality to hold the container van.

Salva, together with the owners and RTC Branch 54 sheriff Basiliso Pimentel went to BOC-Port of Mactan yesterday to serve the court order.

RTC branch 54 presiding judge Geraldine Faith Econg ordered last January 20 the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Section of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office and Lear to release all items seized by them.

Sometime in June 2005, Lear sought the assistance of CIIS-LCPS and raided the warehouse of Tan and Ong in Subangdaku, Mandaue City after Lear suspected that stolen items taken from their company were stored there. These alleged stolen items were inside the container van.

Lear filed a case of qualified theft against Paul Henry Weigel II while Tan, Ong, and others were charged for violating Presidential Decree 1612 or the Anti-Fencing Law before the Mandaue City Prosecutor's Office.

Weigel, a nephew of former Lapu-Lapu City mayor Ernest Weigel, is a scrap buyer of Lear while Tan, Ong, and others are the buyers of this alleged stolen scrap material.

Both complaints were later dismissed sometime in November last year after finding that there are no sufficient evidence to back-up the allegations of the management of Lear.

However, before the case was dismissed, the container van which contained several scrap materials valued at around P600,000, was brought to the warehouse of U-Freight, an international forwarding company for storage and safekeeping.

U-Freight is one of the bonded warehouses of the BOC-Port of Mactan.

It was stipulated under the agreement between Lear and U-Freight that the said container van will not be released without court order and payment of customs duties, taxes, and other charges.

Urbano said even if they are not party to the case, the bureau is the custodian of the container van since it is stored in their bonded warehouse and he still has to check whether the January 20, 2006 court order is already final and executory.

Ong has presented that all documents were in order and all the customs duties and taxes have been paid. But Urbano insisted saying it is better to check everything before he will give clearance for the release.

Tan and Ong's group waited at U-Freight warehouse in Lapu-Lapu City for the release of the container van since early morning yesterday, but opted to go home at around 6 pm after failing to get what they came for.

Salva said they will be back this morning hoping that it will finally be released.

Weigel on the other hand has already filed cases of estafa and against the management of Lear and is also set to file a case of malicious prosecution against the latter for maligning his reputation. -Mitchelle P. Calipayan