‘Rice smugglers using courts to thwart BOC’

MANILA, Philippines - Rice smugglers are turning to the courts to prevent the Bureau of Customs from seizing rice cargo that has no import permit, a BOC official said yesterday.

“The strategy is to seek an injunction to prevent the BOC from implementing the seizure of shipments. We would contest very vigorously the injunctions against us… We would go after the consignees and importers that bring in these shipments,” said Jessie Dellosa, BOC deputy commissioner for intelligence.

Dellosa said they noticed the “shift in strategy” in the last few months.

He said at least P725 million worth of smuggled rice had been seized since September. These were in 1,936 shipping containers, of which 411 were abandoned.

The rice imports entered the country through the ports of Manila, Davao, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Batangas.

Dellosa said the BOC issues a warrant of seizure and detention in favor of the government if consignees leave the rice imports unclaimed for 30 days.

BOC Commissioner John Sevilla said the 1,936 shipping containers yielded around 48 million kilos of rice with an estimated value of P725 million.

BOC slammed

Meanwhile, a rice importer slammed the BOC yesterday for defying court orders allowing the release of their shipments, which were seized last year for allegedly being smuggled.

Starcraft and Bold Bidder Marketing said BOC’s refusal to release the shipments is “an open defiance to the judiciary” and “utter disrespect of judicial proceedings.”

Starcraft’s lawyer Benito Salazar cited separate orders of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 54, Batangas RTC Branch 5 and Davao RTC Branch 16 granting their petition for writ of preliminary injunction.

He said the court orders prevent the National Food Authority (NFA) from requiring those bringing rice into the country to secure import permits.

“Despite the mandatory nature of the said writs, the BOC has unlawfully refused to implement and/or disseminate to the concerned BOC offices/official directives on the implementation of the subject writs,” he said during a press conference in Manila.

Salazar said his client had written Sevilla and the Office of the Solicitor General on Jan. 2 reminding them of the orders of the courts.

He said the BOC refused to release the rice shipments, insisting that the NFA has the authority to issue discretionary import permits for rice in light of the expiration of the country’s right to impose limits and restrictions in its importation.

Salazar, however, noted that such restriction is in violation of the World Trade Organization-General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

He also belied the NFA’s claim that the importers were involved in rice smuggling in Davao. He said the rice shipments were fully declared as rice and there was no mis-declaration.

“Our clients did not smuggle rice; they brought the rice into the country legitimately and openly,” he said.

“How can the NFA accuse us of smuggling rice into the country when my clients openly declared that they were importing rice into the country without an import permit, a fact they made known to NFA officials in letters sent to them on Aug. 20, 2013 and Sept. 10, 2013?” he asked.

100 percent committed

Commissioner Sevilla assured the public that the BOC is “100 percent committed” to curb rice smuggling.

He said they are also looking into the involvement of a certain David Tan, alleged to be behind large-scale rice smuggling activities in various ports all over the country. However, he admitted that they have little information about Tan’s real identity.

When asked if it was possible that Tan is a fictitious name, Sevilla said “positive.”

No David Tan

There is no David Tan registered as rice trader with the NFA in Davao City, NFA-Southern Mindanao manager Felimon Cangrejo told The STAR.

There were reports saying David Tan’s real name was Davidson Tan Bangayan, but Cangrejo said that name was also not in the NFA’s list of rice traders.  â€“ With Edu Punay, Edith Regalado