Another illegal exportation of Agarwood worth P62-million was prevented at the Port of Davao, the Bureau of Customs said Monday.
Six boxes containing Agarwood, which is listed as one of the most expensive natural raw materials in the world, were found in the shipment that was not covered with proper documents for export.
According to the Customs bureau, the shipment was initially declared to contain “woodcraft” bound for Vietnam via the Port of NAIA.
However, after x-ray scanning and physical inspection on December 24, the shipment was found to contain 73 kilograms of Agarwood chips.
Customs said it was intended for illegal exportation without the necessary permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
This type of wood is included in the National List of Threatened Philippine Plants under the DENR Administrative Order No. 2007-01.
The seized shipment will be subjected to seizure and forfeiture proceedings for violation of Section 117 (Regulated Shipments), Section 1400 (Misdeclaration) and Section 1113 (Property Subject to Seizure and Forfeiture), all of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act in relation to Section 27 (i) of Republic Act No. 9147 (Wild Life Act).
It will also be turned over to the DENR.
Last December 15, a shipment of Agarwood worth P1.72 million was also intercepted at the Port of Davao. It was also intended for export to Vietnam and was seized due to misdeclaration and absence of permit.
Port of Davao District Collector Erastus Sandino Austria vowed to continue coordinating with the Port of NAIA “to ensure that our borders are efficiently protected from potential illegal exports of endangered trees.”
Prior to the December 15 incident, about 28 kilos outbound package of Agarwood worth P2.4 million was also prevented to be shipped last December 2 at the Port of NAIA.