SUBIC BAY Freeport — Authorities seized more than P136 million worth of smuggled items on Wednesday at this premier Freeport.

According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño, the seizure of the said contrabands were through the vigilance of the agency, 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 Atty. Ricardo Uy Morales II opened seven 40-footer container vans.

The two officials presented the first five container vans containing 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 the Betron Consumer Goods Trading and arrived here on 15 August from China.

He 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 cited that the smuggled vegetables have a total fair market value of P21,082,752.

Possible violations

According to the BoC, the possible violations of the consignee is having no certificate of product registration issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for the frozen fresh egg balls; no Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance for the fresh carrots; and that the fresh carrots and yellow onions were not declared.

The two other 40-footer container vans, consigned to the Subic All N1 Corp., was 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 said that the two container vans actually contained 167 packages of tissues, 993 master cases of Bros Premium Class A cigarettes, and 993 master cases of Commando Filter, Kings Finest, and Virginia Blend cigarettes.

Morales said that the total fair market value for the smuggled items were priced at P115,509,839.67, adding that the violations committed by the aforementioned consignee include: no valid Certificated of Registration and Tax Exemption from the SBMA; and expired registration/ accreditation from the BoC since 20 March, 2020.

He added that the consignee has no Import Commodity Clearance Issued by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), and is not included in the 2022 list of licensed importers of tobacco products.

Total value

Chairman Aliño said that the total value of the smuggled items that were presented to the media on Wednesday amounted to P136,592,591.67. The agency chief 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 added.

According to DA, import regulations mandate that fresh vegetables and other agricultural commodities require sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances issued by the BPI. Processed food items, on the other hand, require securing permits from the FDA.

“Clearly, these are smuggled goods that rob our government of tariff revenue, pose a risk to public health, and undermine the livelihood of our vegetable farmers,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said.

“As directed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., we will be relentless in our effort to go after these smugglers,” he added.

BPI director Gerald Glenn Panganiban said that samples from the confiscated vegetables will undergo food safety testing.

Imported agricultural products that are deemed unsafe for human consumption will be condemned and destroyed, according to DA.