Smuggled onions hidden among ukay-ukay seized

A BoC official said a report from the Department of Agriculture on the attempt to smuggle yellow onions prompted the inspection of the shipment

Amid the reported difficulties in enforcing the P250 per kilo market price cap on onions, the Bureau of Customs reported yesterday the seizure of P17 million worth of yellow onions.

The sacks of onions were discovered inside three containers that came from China, hidden among ukay-ukay or used clothing and home products worth P2 million.

The containers were consigned to SB Express Logistics and Business Solutions Inc., according to Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz, who cited the commitment of the members of the team behind the seizure.

Ruiz said the BoC has examined and seized hundreds of millions of pesos worth of smuggled agricultural products in December alone.

“If they (smugglers) think they can use ukay-ukay to hide their onions, they are mistaken,” he said.

The BoC chief said a 100-percent examination of the first container was undertaken two days before Christmas under an alert order issued for it the day before, 22 December 2022.

The two other containers were examined on the same day after the onions were discovered in the first container during the inspection.

Taxable goods

Ruiz said the BoC, in clamping down on smuggling activities, is trying to protect Filipinos against the ill effects of goods from abroad swamping the country.

He said many traders are legally importing used clothing by paying the right fees, but there are still those who smuggle ukay-ukay along with other taxable goods.

The three containers were declared to contain plastic buckets, dish plates, cat litter and ladies’ clothes. When examined, the first container yielded sacks of onions.

Seven other containers consigned to SB Express had been held by the BoC on the suspicion they also contain smuggled goods.

Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Juvymax Uy said the BoC issued the inspection order based on a report from the Department of Agriculture about the attempt to smuggle yellow onions.

“We processed the derogatory information received by the DA and shared with us. Based on these initial reports and investigation, we issued the AO shortly before Christmas,” Uy said.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOEY SANCHEZ MENDOZA FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE @tribunephl_joey Prepped for feast Members of the engineering department of the City of Manila clean the Quirino Grandstand at Rizal Park for weeklong activities in relation to the Feast of the Black Nazarene culminating in a week’s time with the “Walk of Faith” minus the “miraculous image” brought from Mexico to the Philippines in the 1600s.