Subic Bay Freeport – Authorities seized more than P136 million in smuggled items on Wednesday. According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño, the seizure of the contraband was due to the vigilance of the agency, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Subic, and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

During the presentation to the media on Wednesday at the New Container Terminal (NCT), Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel and BOC Port of Subic Collector Atty. Ricardo Uy Morales II opened seven 40-foot container vans.

The first five container vans contained fresh carrots and fresh yellow onions from China. According to Laurel, the shipment was declared to contain 13,250 cartons of frozen fresh fish egg balls.

The shipment was consigned to Betron Consumer Goods Trading and arrived here on 15 August 2024 from China.

Laurel added that the five container vans were found to contain 5,784 cartons of fresh carrots, 9,742 sacks of fresh yellow onions, and 320 cartons of frozen fresh egg balls. He noted that the smuggled vegetables have a total fair market value of P21,082,752.

According to the BOC, the consignee's possible violations include having no certificate of product registration issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the frozen fresh egg balls, no Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance for the fresh carrots, and failing to declare the fresh carrots and yellow onions.

The two other 40-foot container vans, consigned to Subic All N1 Corp., were declared to contain 2,153 packages of tissues. The container vans arrived in Subic Freeport on 13 August 2024, with Taiwan as the country of origin.

Collector Morales stated that the two container vans actually contained 167 packages of tissues and 993 master cases of Bros Premium Class A cigarettes, Commando Filter, Kings Finest, and Virginia Blend cigarettes.

Morales said that the total fair market value for the smuggled items was P115,509,839.67. He added that the violations committed by the aforementioned consignee include having no valid Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption from the SBMA and an expired registration/accreditation from the BOC since 20 March 2020.

He further mentioned that the consignee had no Import Commodity Clearance issued by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) and was not included in the 2022 list of licensed importers of tobacco products.

Chairman Aliño stated that the total value of the smuggled items presented to the media on Wednesday amounted to P136,592,591.67. He commended the vigilance of the government agencies involved in safeguarding the country from illicit materials.

“Our mandate is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s thrust of ensuring that smuggled items do not proliferate in the country. The SBMA, the BOC Port of Subic and the DA will continue to man the gates of the Philippines and bar the entry of smuggled items into the country,” he said.