Spoiled rice seized in Tacloban buried

TACLOBAN CITY – Close to a thousand sacks of confiscated rice that are no longer fit for human or animal consumption will be disposed of by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Tacloban Friday by burying them.

The shipment arrived at Tacloban port five years ago and was consigned to A-1 Milling Corporation. But Customs stopped its release because the shipment lacked an import permit from the National Food Authority (NFA) and other pertinent documents.

When the consignee eventually gave up its right over the rice, Customs confiscated the shipment.

The rice was put on auction twice, but bidders stayed away because it was also damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

The shipment was then put up for a negotiated sale, but because of abrupt changes in the bureau’s administration, the Office of the Commissioner was unable to act on it, said Acting District Collector Jose A. Naig.

After the NFA released laboratory findings that the rice unfit to be eaten, Naig said he created a committee to make its own assessment of the shipment. The committee found that the grains were already moldy, discolored and powdery, and emitted a pungent smell.

“Upon my assumption of office, I have worked out for the condemnation and immediate burying of these items. The prolonged stay of these commodities is prejudicial to the interest of the government because we are paying for their storage and a hazardous to public health,” Naig said.