DoJ reviews non-bailable economic sabotage raps vs shipping execs
A Department of Justice (DoJ) prosecution team has begun evaluating criminal complaints transmitted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to determine whether probable cause exists to indict shipping executives, consignees, and third-party shippers in court.
The evaluation follows the filing of non-bailable criminal complaints under Republic Act 12022, also known as the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, against the owners and officers of Carlos A. Gothong Shipping Lines (CAGLI).
Among the 11 individuals named in the NBI complaints are five members of the Gothong family: Calvin Boniface Gothong, Clement Bryan Gothong, Liza Gothong, Chad Benedict Gothong and Lili Gothong.
In response to the economic sabotage allegations, Carlos A. Gothong Shipping Lines issued a statement denying involvement or complicity in the smuggling operation.
The company asserted its status as a domestic common carrier operating under the standard “Shipper’s Load and Count” arrangement, stating that third-party clients delivered the containers pre-sealed, leaving corporate personnel without legal authority or physical opportunity to inspect the cargo.
The NBI also named several corporate entities, private port operators, and individual shippers in the legal action, including Karen Joy Betasolo, Rose Marie Trillanes, Jomar Demos and individuals registered under the aliases “Henry Lim Co” and “Ted Lim Chan,” alongside corporate representatives of CAGLI.
The charges stemmed from joint enforcement operations conducted in June and July 2026 by an inter-agency task force comprising the NBI Special Action Unit, NBI Cebu District Office, NBI Central Visayas Regional Office, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Philippine Coast Guard.
Raids conducted at CAGLI’s private wharves in the Vitas Industrial Estate in Tondo, Manila, and Subangdaku in Mandaue City, Cebu, yielded large caches of suspected black-market cigarettes, marking one of the state’s largest economic sabotage seizures.
Under Republic Act 12022, large-scale smuggling offenses are classified as non-bailable, requiring immediate detention upon the issuance of arrest warrants.
Conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment and fines reaching up to three times the total value of the contraband involved.
The DoJ prosecution team will review the NBI transmittal and the respondents’ defense submissions during preliminary investigation proceedings.