The Bureau of Customs (BOC) logged a high total of P31.5 billion in confiscated smuggled products this year, according to BOC Director Verne Enciso on Saturday, September 23, setting the highest record reported by the bureau under the leadership of Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, even though there are still a few months left before the year ends.
According to Enciso, the P3.3 billion worth of smuggled agricultural products is among the BOC’s responsibilities in discussing illicit trade across the country and maintaining fair trade for legal businesses, particularly in the agricultural sector.
Moreover, the BOC continues to inspect warehouses where smuggled goods could possibly be suspected of being hidden pursuant to Executive Order (EO) No. 39 as issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
It can be recalled that the bureau discovered 36,000 sacks of rice in a warehouse in Tondo, Manila, while 20,000 sacks were seized in Las Piñas and Bacoor, Cavite, recently.
These confiscated sacks of rice were in addition to the seven rice warehouses raided in Bulacan, where four were issued warrants of seizure and detention.
In the mentioned warehouses in Bulacan, 236,000 sacks of rice from Vietnam, Thailand, and Pakistan were found.
Meanwhile, other smuggled products infringing on the top lists of confiscated items are agricultural products, cigarettes, and drugs.
