Anti-smuggling czar tags BOC men in smuggling
By Michael Lim Ubac - Inquirer
Some officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs are involved in the smuggling of cars and other items via the country’s free ports, according to Antonio Villar Jr., chief of the newly created Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group.
Villar was asked to name names during a press conference Sunday, but he said the PASG was still in the process of “validating” the list of suspected protectors of smugglers.
He said the number, including BOC examiners, could reach “more than 100 nationwide.”
Villar said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had given the PASG the “green light” to investigate the BOC officials who were allegedly in cahoots with big-time smugglers.
Asked if the PASG was encroaching on the functions of the BOC, Villar said: “Why would [the President] create the PASG if she was satisfied with the BOC?”
Last Thursday at the Subic Bay Freeport, 18 smuggled cars were crushed. The unprecedented move was described by Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales as a “condemnation process.”
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the show cost the government an estimated P30 million in auction proceeds and P10 million in taxes.
However, the Department of Finance, the BOC and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) spared other smuggled luxury vehicles such as a Corvette, a Lamborghini, a few Porsches, Audis and Cadillacs, which they earlier said they would destroy.
Of the 18 cars, only seven were luxury vehicles: A two-door Mitsubishi GTO, three BMW X5, one BMW 35i, one Lincoln Navigator and one Chevrolet Starcraft van. The rest were not: Six Toyota Estima, one Toyota Caldina, two Hyundai Grandeur, one Nissan Serena Vanette and one Mitsubishi VR-II.
During Sunday’s press conference, Villar declined to comment on the reported rift between himself and Morales, but said: “Maybe one of us … kinukunsinti ang (tolerates) smuggling.”
Pointing to the connivance between smugglers and BOC officials, Villar said cars and other smuggled items could not be taken out of the ports without the “signatures of BOC officials.”
Since January, Villar said the PASG was able to seize P300 million worth of smuggled items. He also admitted that the government’s annual losses due to smuggling could reach P50-60 billion.
Reports reaching his office showed that corrupt BOC officials were paid P5,000 for a 20-footer container and P10,000 for a 40-footer container that they allowed through.
Villar also defended the decision of the BOC, DOF and Subic Freeport officials not to destroy the Ferrari, Lamborghini, the Porsches and 14 other luxury cars.
Teves said last week that the government had “to hurdle the legal processes” first. He added that the owners intended to avail themselves of legal processes to recover the luxury cars.
Villar disclosed he received several letters asking Ms Arroyo to reconsider her decision ordering the destruction of the luxury cars and instead to auction them off, so that the proceeds could be donated to charitable institutions like Gawad Kalinga.
Some officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs are involved in the smuggling of cars and other items via the country’s free ports, according to Antonio Villar Jr., chief of the newly created Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group.
Villar was asked to name names during a press conference Sunday, but he said the PASG was still in the process of “validating” the list of suspected protectors of smugglers.
He said the number, including BOC examiners, could reach “more than 100 nationwide.”
Villar said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had given the PASG the “green light” to investigate the BOC officials who were allegedly in cahoots with big-time smugglers.
Asked if the PASG was encroaching on the functions of the BOC, Villar said: “Why would [the President] create the PASG if she was satisfied with the BOC?”
Last Thursday at the Subic Bay Freeport, 18 smuggled cars were crushed. The unprecedented move was described by Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales as a “condemnation process.”
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the show cost the government an estimated P30 million in auction proceeds and P10 million in taxes.
However, the Department of Finance, the BOC and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) spared other smuggled luxury vehicles such as a Corvette, a Lamborghini, a few Porsches, Audis and Cadillacs, which they earlier said they would destroy.
Of the 18 cars, only seven were luxury vehicles: A two-door Mitsubishi GTO, three BMW X5, one BMW 35i, one Lincoln Navigator and one Chevrolet Starcraft van. The rest were not: Six Toyota Estima, one Toyota Caldina, two Hyundai Grandeur, one Nissan Serena Vanette and one Mitsubishi VR-II.
During Sunday’s press conference, Villar declined to comment on the reported rift between himself and Morales, but said: “Maybe one of us … kinukunsinti ang (tolerates) smuggling.”
Pointing to the connivance between smugglers and BOC officials, Villar said cars and other smuggled items could not be taken out of the ports without the “signatures of BOC officials.”
Since January, Villar said the PASG was able to seize P300 million worth of smuggled items. He also admitted that the government’s annual losses due to smuggling could reach P50-60 billion.
Reports reaching his office showed that corrupt BOC officials were paid P5,000 for a 20-footer container and P10,000 for a 40-footer container that they allowed through.
Villar also defended the decision of the BOC, DOF and Subic Freeport officials not to destroy the Ferrari, Lamborghini, the Porsches and 14 other luxury cars.
Teves said last week that the government had “to hurdle the legal processes” first. He added that the owners intended to avail themselves of legal processes to recover the luxury cars.
Villar disclosed he received several letters asking Ms Arroyo to reconsider her decision ordering the destruction of the luxury cars and instead to auction them off, so that the proceeds could be donated to charitable institutions like Gawad Kalinga.
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
11:19 AM
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