DOJ OKS indictment of Phoenix Petroleum exec
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the indictment of a top executive of independent oil player Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc. for alleged smuggling of some P6 billion in petroleum products in 2010 and 2011.
In a nine-page resolution, the DOJ found probable cause to file a smuggling case against Phoenix president and chief executive officer Dennis Uy and customs broker Jorlan Cabanes over fraudulent importations of gas oil, unleaded gasoline and other petroleum products at the Ports in Davao and Bauan, Batangas from June 2010 to April 2011.
The DOJ approved the complaint filed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in May 2011 against Uy and Cabanes for non- payment of excise and value-added taxes and non-submission of import documents in violation of Sections 3601 and 3602 of Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP).
The DOJ said the respondents “had personal knowledge of and direct participation in the operations of Phoenix, including the processing and release of shipments that were already abandoned in favor of the government for failure to file import entries within 30 days from discharge of goods.”
It cited as proof “discrepancies, inconsistencies and variance in ( respondents’) documents relative to the shipments in question which led to the unlawful importation and perpetration of fraudulent practices.”
The DOJ junked Uy’s alibi that he was unaware of the violations of TCCP since payment of taxes “is left to the officers and employees in charge of operations.”
Cabanes, on the other hand, had direct participation in the processing and release of the questioned shipments, the DOJ added.
The DOJ stressed there are more people who could be involved in this smuggling case, but has yet to identify them.
Last year, the DOJ initially dismissed the charges filed against respondents by the BOC after preliminary investigation by state prosecutors.
But Customs appealed the resolution through a petition for review before the office of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.
De Lima, in the latest resolution signed last Wednesday, granted BOC’s appeal and reversed the findings of the investigating fiscals.
“The documents submitted by the respondents, which as shown by the complainant, do not correspond to the shipment in question raise serious doubts as to the legality of the importation and are indications that fraudulent acts were committed in the process,” De Lima said.
Phoenix Petroleum, on the other hand, said it is prepared to answer the smuggling charges, “Mr. Uy will be properly addressing all issues at the proper time and venue as soon as he receives his official copy of the alleged resolution... we are confident that Mr. Uy will again be cleared of all these baseless charges as all the company’s importations are legitimate and legal,” Phoenix said in a statement yesterday.
“While we do not wish to delve into the merits of the case, as we have yet to receive a copy of the said resolution, we wish to stress however that the documents presented by the BOC before the DOJ in support of its motion for reconsideration were in fact wrong documents which do not even pertain to importations involving Phoenix Petroleum... but other companies, which is outright misleading,” Phoenix said.
“Moreover, we emphasize that unfair as it may seem, the BOC presented new issues and documents, which were not even presented in the original complaint which is highly irregular.”
Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, for his part, said the DOJ resolution is proof that the prosecution arm of the law is functioning under the Aquino administration.
“The case is now with the DOJ and soon with the courts upon the filing of the proper information. The whole thing is part of due process,” he said.
Records showed the oil firm’s importations from June 2010 to November 2010 with a combined dutiable value of P589,523,451.772 did not have import entries.
While Phoenix submitted Import Entry Revenue Declaration (IERD), the BOC submitted documents that showed the IERD is for a different consignee and shipment.
It was learned that payments of duties for its imported Gas oil and Ron 93 Unleaded Gasoline at the Port of Davao from January to March 2011 worth P1,558,809,162.00 were late, hence, it was already deemed abandoned and became property of the government.
For the P1,962,839,557 June 2010 to April 2010 importation of various petroleum products, the DOJ said Phoenix submitted supporting documents but BOC submitted evidence that it was about a different shipment.
Lastly, the shipments worth P1,336,569,393 and P533,471,269 were not covered by the required Load Port Surveys.
“With all the discrepancies, inconsistencies and variance in the documents submitted by respondents vis--vis the documents submitted by the complainant relative to the shipments in question, we cannot sustain the finding in our resolution of Nov. 16, 2012 that dismissed the complaint against the respondent,” the DOJ concluded.