Abandoned by consignees vans of rice rotting at CIP?

CEBU, Philippines - More than 350 container vans containing sacks of rice, mostly from Vietnam, are still at the Cebu International Port awaiting auction after they were abandoned by various consignees.

Bureau of Customs-Cebu deputy collector for administration Paul Alcazaren said that considering these rice shipments arrived at the port last year, it is possible that these are no longer fit for human consumption.

“Pero di pa ta sure sa quality sa bugas nga naa pa nganha karon labi na kasagaran ana last year pa na naa nganha. Supposed to be within three months gikan sa pag-abot, angayan i-auction na na kay ang bugas, the longer it stays, magkaubos ang iyang value,” Alcazaren said.

The 350 container vans are part of the 520 considered overstaying at the CIP as of January 29 this year.

Alcazaren said that based on their computer records there are 1,370 overstaying container vans, but their physical inventory shows a much lesser number.

Customs Operation officer Ricardo Collantes said that 80 percent of the released shipment was bound for the Philippine Export Zone Authority.

“Pag-release gud aning mga shipment nga PEZA-bound, it was done manually. Mao na wala ma-reconcile ang record sa computer,” said Collantes.

He said that he was supposed to come up with an updated list as to how many container vans are now at CIP, but his computer became corrupted and all his files were lost.

Goods inside the other container vans include a used Mercedes Benz and a Mini-Cooper, a fire truck, truck parts, dental equipment, used clothing, glass, hardware items and tires, among others.

Earlier, BOC-Cebu legal chief Rico Rey Holganza requested the National Food Authority to determine whether the rice inside 28 of the container vans are still fit for human consumption.

Arneth Manquiquis, chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Services in Cebu said that so far one container van loaded with rice is already spoiled.

“Naay usa ka container van nga ang bugas baho na gyud,” Manquiquis said.

A container van can hold between 500 to 520 sacks of rice.

Holganza added if it is determined that the rice inside those 28 container vans are safe for humans to eat, NFA will be asked to set the floor price per sack so that this will be set for public bidding.

Congested yard

Meanwhile, the top official of the Oriental Port and Allied Services also appealed to importers and consignees to get their shipment at the CIP and transfer them to their respective warehouses.

Tomas Riveral, OPASCOR general manager and president, said there are 2,183 container vans now beyond the seven-day free storage adding to the congestion of container vans inside the CIP.

“I am appealing to them to get their shipment to decongest storage area,” said Riveral.

The BOC-Cebu cannot forfeit the said container vans yet as they are still within the 30-day period within which consignees are allowed to file their import entry.

OPASCOR, the exclusive cargo handling and arrastre services provider at CIP, recently organized the Cebu Port Summit to look for ways and concrete solutions to solve the congestion of container vans at CIP.

Various port stakeholders attended the said summit wherein different concerns were raised.

OPASCOR manager for operations Jonathan Fernandez said that for this month they were able to release an average of 320 container vans per week which is relatively lower as compared to the same period of January which is 336 container vans per week.

As of February 20, CIP now has 4,500 container vans, which is way beyond its capacity of 4,000 container vans. And more shipments arrive every week.

“So kung gamay ra ang withdrawal sa mga container vans every week unya mas daghan ang muabot every week, mao nang musamot gyud ang congestion,” Fernandez said.

Philexport-Cebu executive director Federico Escalona said that since exports experienced a meltdown in 2008, it is only now that their sector is slowly recovering.

“Pero mao lagi na among problema kay there is a scarcity of container vans kay tua natanggong sa CIP. Unsaon man namo pagpadala sa among nga produkto nga wala may mga sudlanan?” said Escalona.

On the part of BOC, district collector Rolando Almadin said that releasing of cargoes/container vans has to go through the proper process to ensure that importers/consignees are paying the correct taxes and duties.

To fast track the releasing of shipment, an additional X-ray machine will be installed at the CIP for a speedy inspections and examinations of in-bound and out-bound cargoes. —/BRP (FREEMAN)