New Customs chief in CDO vows to go after smugglers

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Customs officials in Region 10 vowed to go after smugglers following the seizure of 5,000 bags of Vietnamese rice worth P9 million recently.

Newly installed Customs district collector Lourdes Mangaoang said yesterday she would not hesitate to file cases against violators.

“I will spare no one, even if you are my friend. If you have violated the law, I will go after you,” she said.

Mangaoang, who assumed her position last month, said they would have a more rigid stance in dealing with contraband entering local ports like illegal drugs and firearms. 

The Customs bureau recently opened 10 20-foot shipping containers at the Mindanao Container Terminal-Subport in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental that contained the 5,000 bags of rice imported from Vietnam.

Mangaoang said the bureau declared the rice shipment illegal since its consignee, the Bubog Farmers Cooperative, failed to secure a permit from the National Food Authority.

Had the imported rice got out of the port without proper documentation, Mangaoang said the government would have lost about P2 million to P3 million in revenues.

She said the seized rice would be sold in an auction. – With Gerry Gorit