Heads will roll amid discovery of attempted resale of seized cigarettes — BOC chief

Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio assures that “heads will roll” if reports are confirmed that some agency personnel were involved in the attempted resale of P270 million worth of seized contraband cigarettes from Capas, Tarlac.

According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), they are currently investigating the possible involvement of some BOC personnel in the attempted resale of smuggled cigarettes previously seized by the bureau.

“I already instructed the Intelligence Group's Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service to look into this matter and report to me immediately. The NBI has our full cooperation and I promise that anyone found involved in this will be held accountable. Heads will roll,” Commissioner Rubio said.

“We are one with the NBI and thank them in the fight against cigarette smuggling. We have made significant progress in this regard, seizing P5.1 billion worth of e-cigarettes/vapes and P4.1 billion worth of tobacco and cigarettes, for a total of almost P9.3 billion last year,” he added.

For his part, Port of Subic Acting District Collector Marlon Fritz Broto said that upon receiving the report, the Office of the District Collector (ODC) immediately directed the Acting Chief of the Auction and Cargo Disposal Unit (ACDU) to form a team and coordinate with the NBI and the local government unit to “provide clarity” regarding the seized cigarettes.

He said the shipments arrived at the Port of Subic in four intervals between July 2021 and June 2022. They were abandoned, immediately seized, and referred for disposal in 2023.

"Once the bond was settled, the process began and the condemnation started last January 6 and again on February 9 when the last three containers were transported to the said facility," he said.

The acting district collector and lawyer cited the results of their investigation, which showed that the NBI's buy-bust operations occurred during a shift change for ACDU, ESS, and CIIS Port of Subic Customs personnel guarding the condemnation process.

He also noted that the condemnation of the containers occurred within the regulatory period.

Of the five containers, which were all later found to be smuggled, four were originally consigned to Hongcim International Corp. and one was consigned to Proline Logistics Philippines Inc.

The BOC confirmed Hazchem North as the waste disposal company contracted to dispose of the cigarettes.

This is the same company whose owner, according to the NBI, allegedly ordered his environmental consultant to find a buyer for the goods.

“Our coordination with the NBI has always been one of the reasons our operations have been successful. If the investigation targets someone from our team, that’s all the more reason we should work together with the NBI to get to the bottom of this and hold people accountable,” Commissioner Rubio said.

“We are an open book. Anything the NBI needs from us, we’ll be committed and eager to provide access to them,” he added.