Too late to peel P 500K onion cargo

The Bureau of Customs seized the produce that were imported from China after learning that the consignee misdeclared the goods. It also lacked importation papers.

It may be said that the shippers and consignee ran rings around some agencies.

More than 5,000 kilos or P500,000 worth of imported onions were destroyed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Cebu yesterday. These had been misdeclared as apples when the goods arrived from China at the Cebu International Port last April.

An examination of two cargo containers confirmed the BOC’s suspicion.

The shipper, who did not return to claim the goods, lacked an importation permit, too, said Elmer Bailio, BOC Assessment Division chief. Port stakeholders have asked the BOC to move the rotting onions away from the port, to get rid of the stench.

More than 5,000 kilos or half a million pesos worth of imported onions were destroyed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Cebu yesterday after these were found to have been misdeclared as apples.

Elmer Bailio, BOC Assessment Division chief, said the onions, reportedly imported from China, arrived at the Cebu International Port in two containers last April.

Upon examination, BOC offi- cials found that some of the cargo contained onions instead of apples, as declared by the consignee.

The shipment was consigned to Marped Enterprise based in Bacoor, Cavite.

After the BOC revealed the results of its examination, the shipper of the two cargo containers did not return to claim them.

Bailio said they also found that the shipper had no importation permit, which is a violation the Philippine Tariffs and Customs Code.

Bailio said the BOC has already filed charges against the consignee.

With no one claiming the two vans, the cargo was left to rot and had started to emit a foul odor while stored in the CIP.

This prompted officials of the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (OPASCOR) to ask the BOC to remove the rotting cargo from the CIP.

Upon the recommendation of BOC Cebu District collector Elvira Cruz, Bailio and his personnel brought the two cargo vans to the RRDS Petro Chemical Industries Inc., a solid waste management facility in Barangay Umapad, Mandaue City for proper condemnation.

As some of the produce were already rotting, the BOC, after securing permission from other government agencies, disposed of the onions yesterday.

SUNSTAR FOTO / ALLAN CUIZON ONIONS OR APPLES? A worker of a waste facility in Mandaue City prepares the rotting onions and apples for incineration. The shipment was supposed to contain only apples from China. But upon inspection, some turned out to be onions.