P26-M Indian rice seized in Misamis
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines –The Bureau of Customs (BOC) opened yesterday five of the 35 shipping containers loaded with 17,500 bags of smuggled rice from India that were seized at the Mindanao International Container Port in Tagoloan town in Misamis Oriental last November.
BOC district collector Lourdes Mangaoang said the shipment has a retail market value of P26 million.
Mangaoang said the rice shipment was considered abandoned after the consignee failed to secure its release within the maximum period prescribed by law.
Customs Deputy Commissioner Danilo Lim, who supervised the confiscation, identified the shipment’s consignee as the Jefmin Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative based in Barangay Datung Matas in Concepcion, Tarlac.
“The pattern that has emerged is that Luzon-based farmers’ cooperatives, which have no permit from the NFA, prefer Cagayan de Oro as unloading point for their illegal importation. It begs the question, why?†Lim said.
Lim said syndicates abuse the tax-free importation privileges of farmers’ cooperatives to procure imported rice at subsidized prices to the detriment of both local farmers and the government.
The BOC said 20 of the confiscated shipping containers arrived on Nov. 22, 2012 and the remaining 15 a week later.
“The string of setbacks against illegal rice importations should serve as stern warning to importers that Cagayan de Oro is now off-limits to smugglers,†Mangaoang said. – Jigger Jerusalem, Gerry Gorit, Evelyn Macairan
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