The Bureau of Customs (BOC) said Sunday, August 21, that it inspected several warehouses of sugar in Bulacan and Caloocan City recently after receiving tip that they were supposedly hoarding supply of the commodity.
In Bulacan, operatives of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) and Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) conducted a series of inspection in four warehouses at T12 Polo Land in Brgy. Tabang, Marilao which yielded 60,000 sacks of sugar.
In Caloocan, the BOC also inspected a sugar warehouse which contained more than 14,000 sacks of imported sugar from Thailand.
The BOC said the caretakers of the inspected warehouses were asked to present the necessary documents for the storage of sugar.
“The BOC will refer them to DTI and SRA for possible infractions,” the Customs said.
The series of operations followed the seizure of 140,000 bags or around 7,000 metric tons of allegedly smuggled sugar from Thailand in Subic Port, Zambales last August 18.
The BOC said it has uncovered a modus operandi where sugar importers “recycle” import permits to bring in a new batch of sugar supply as the country faces a production crisis.
Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz ordered CIIS Officer-in-Charge Jeoffrey Tacio to probe the said modus and identify the personalities behind the sugar smuggling in the country.
Tacio said that the shipment from Thailand that was seized in Subic Port was covered by a “special permit to discharge” (SPD) and “verified single administrative document” (SAD) from the Customs, which had a verified clearance from the SRA.
Despite having clearance from both BOC and SRA, the discharge of the imported sugar was put on hold after the BOC received a “derogatory information” about the possible occurrence of “irregularities” in its importation.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also heads the Department of Agriculture, rejected Sugar Order No. 4 of the SRA which would have authorized the importation of around 300,000 metric tons of sugar, raising suspicion that some unscrupulous individuals were creating a supposedly “artificial sugar shortage” while warehouses continue to hoard supply.