12 charged over missing alerted container shipments
Criminal charges were filed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) against five Customs officers, four consignees, a broker, and two officials of the Mindanao International Container Terminal (MICT) before the Department of Justice (DOJ) Friday over the illegal release of alerted shipments in June under the “swing operation” and “release now and file entry later” schemes at the Mindanao Container Terminal-Phividec.
The BOC said the Customs officers and consignees violated Section 1401 (Unlawful Importation) in relation to Section 1424 (Removing Goods from Customs Custody) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
Charged were customs employees LilingComayog, officer-in-charge of Cargo Control Division of the Sub-Port of Tagoloan, whose name and signature were reportedly found on the PreAssessment SAD of the shipments which aided the unlawful release of the containers; customs police agents Mangigin D. Macawadib, Godofredo T. Cahulogan, and Magalona T. Busok, who were on duty at the time of the unlawful release; and Cao D. Malic, the on-duty customs gatekeeper.
The said customs employees are likewise liable for violation of Section 1431 (Statutory Offenses of Officers and Employees) of the CMTA.
Also charged were Sherbet SabilloAlazas, owner of General Success Merchandise, its licensed customs broker Raul Mercado De Leon, Jr.; the owner of Melea RPL Enterprises RP JoegenLisondra; the owner of Mave Trading Meljane B. Mejos; and the owner of FVV Gracias Enterprises Francis Victor V. Gracias.
Similarly charged were Jose Mari G. Fernandez, the Terminal Manager of Mindanao International Container Terminal, and Customs representative Geneva C. Cedeño, alias “Bebang”, who reportedly personally facilitated the unlawful release of the containers from customs premises.
The cases were filed after the discovery of smuggling schemes allegedly perpetrated by importers in connivance with Customs employees at the Sub-Port of Tagoloan, MCTPhividec.
The unveiling of the scheme led to the discovery of 25 missing containers from the said port, which are still unaccounted for.
Aside from this, the Bureau is still tracking 169 container vans missing from the same Mindanao port.
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeñalearned that the scheme involves the unlawful release of containers from Customs before the filing of its entries and before the payment of corresponding duties and taxes.
Swing operation
Under the “swing operation” scheme, shipments are released from Customs custody thru the use of a Pre-Assessment-Single Administrative Document (SAD) print out from the Value-Added Service Provider (VASP) with the stamp of “SUBJECT FOR X-RAY” or “FOR TRANSFER TO MICT-CCA”, and then spirited out from the port.
"In this method, the release of shipments is without the corresponding import entry being filed; thus, no payment of duties and taxes," Lapeña explained.
Under the “Release and File Entry Later” scheme, the shipments are immediately released from Customs custody with its corresponding import entry filed several days after the release. This method is adopted to avoid timely detection by alerting offices and proper examination of shipments.
The bureau had earlier filed criminal cases against consignees General Success Merchandise and Mave Trading for misdeclaration and unlawful importation of agricultural products.