Steel importer seeks Duterte’s help

Mannage Resources Trading Corp. ( MRTC), a major importer of steel products from China, has sought the intervention of President Duterte for what it deems as harassment by local steel players and Bureau of Customs officials.

MRTC appealed to the President for help, saying that its latest shipment of some 20,000 metric tons of deformed steel bars have been not been allowed to exit the Port of Subic despite compliance with the rules and payment of all necessary taxes.

In a letter to President Duterte dated Jan. 3, MRTC president Lawrence Sy said the shipment is being with- held by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Bureau of Customs ( BOC) since it arrived on Nov. 4, 2016.

“Up to the present, the shipment of MRTC continues to be held without any valid grounds by both the SBMA and BOC. This undue and unwarranted delay has caused irreversible damages to MRTC, through the commitments it has failed to meet as well as to the tarnished and besmirched reputation it suffered from the different newspaper articles circulated on the issue,” MRTC said in its letter.

MRTC said it has complied with all the necessary requirements imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the Bureau of Product Standards.

On Oct. 28, 2016, MRTC filed with DTI Region 3 its Import Commodity Clearance application for “the importation of 20,025.88 metric tones of 275W 10 mm and 12 mm Deformed Steel Bars.”

In response, DTI Region 3 Director Judith Angeles issued an ICC, which enabled MRTC to lodge its import entry with the BOC and pay the taxes and duties for the shipment, which arrived at the Port of Subic the following day.

MRTC paid P43.3 million in taxes and duties.