Criminal raps filed against Manila port official, Customs staff tagged in P13-M sugar smuggling
CRIMINAL charges were filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against an official of the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and employees of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) for allegedly conspiring with the importer and broker in a foiled attempt to smuggle out of the country more than P13 million worth of sugar.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena on Wednesday identified the accused Customs officials as Collector Fidel Benigno B. Villanueva, officer-in-charge of the MICP, who approved the recommendation for the lifting of alert orders; Collector Terencio Comon, Special Assistant on Assessment for the district; and Office of the District Collector representative Gerardo Porible, who acted witness for the false examinations.
Also charged were Customs examiners Ruel Pantaleon, Raul Cimagala Jr., Vanzandt Remonde, Edmar Batino, and Robert Tuason; and Customs appraisers Jose Saromo, Benjamen Cayao, Leonora Navarro, and Arlene Salazar.
Aside from the 12 customs officials and employees, the Bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS) also filed charges against Dennis Orlanda Narra, owner of importing firm Don Trading and broker Ameloden Buruan Riga, for unlawful importation.
All of the accused were slapped with six criminal charges for violation of Section 1403 (Fraudulent Practices Against Customs Revenue) and Section 1401 (Unlawful Importation) in relation to Section 1400 (Misdeclaration) and Section 117 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), Section 3 of R.A. No. 10845, otherwise known as An Act Declaring Large-Scale Agricultural Smuggling as Economic Sabotage, and Article 171 and 172 (Falsification) of the Revised Penal Code.
In addition, BOC employees were also charged for violation of Section 1431 (Statutory Offenses of Officers and Employees) (d), (e), (f), and (g) of the CMTA. The bureau employees fraudulently reported to the Customs chief that they found no irregularities in the declarations in the import entry despite the alert order issued.
Records show that the six shipments consigned to Don Trading were alerted by the district collector of MICP upon the instructions of the Commissioner. The customs examiners and officials in MICP recommended the lifting of the alert orders and submitted examination reports informing the Commissioner that the shipments were all in order.
Lapena, however, ordered a re-examination after he became suspicious of the findings submitted to his office, which showed that the shipments actually contain sugar, which contradicted the examination report and the pictures submitted by the Customs personnel.
This is the seventh consecutive week that the BOC filed criminal cases against smugglers, indicating the determination of the current leadership to address smuggling in the country.
“The instant filing of the criminal charges does not end this issue. This is just the first step of our action. Continuous investigation is being conducted and other BOC personnel that will be identified to have dipped their fingers in these illegal acts will be charged as well,” Lapena said.
“This should serve as a very serious warning against all BOC employees who collude with smugglers that they will not be spared. There will be no holy cows. Everyone caught in conspiring with the smugglers will face very serious problems”, he added. WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
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