Five customs brokers, including two Cebuanos, are facing smuggling cases filed by the Bureau of Customs before the Department of Justice yesterday morning for their alleged involvement in the unlawful importation of over 12.8 million kilograms rice.
The respondents were identified as Ivy M. Souza, representative of Bold Bidder Marketing and General Merchandise in San Juan, Batangas; Denise Kathryn Rosaroso of Minglanilla, Cebu; John Kevin Cisneros of barangay Sto. Niño, Cebu City; Francis Rudolph Forneste of Mandaluyong City and Elbert Lusterio of Mogpog, Marinduque.
BOC District Collectors Brig. General Roberto Almadin of Port of Cebu, Mario Mendoza of the Port of Manila and Elmir Dela Cruz of the Manila International Container Port yesterday filed separate cases at the office of DOJ Undersecretary Francisco Baraan.
BOC Commissioner John Sevilla, in a statement sent via email, said the cases stemmed from Bold Bidder’s importations of rice without any import permits by the National Food Authority (NFA) from August to November 2013.
“The people behind Bold Bidder have filed numerous cases questioning the authority of BOC to seize its rice shipment, even cases against us at the Ombudsman. They have danced around our legal system in desperate attempts to try to get their cache of smuggled rice out,” Sevilla said.
Each of the five respondents faces 40 counts of violation of Section 3601 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines for the unlawful importation. It carries a maximum punishment of two years imprisonment and a P5,000 fine per count.
Also, respondents face 40 counts of violation of Section 29 of Presidential Decree No. 4 as amended by P.D No. 1845 which carries a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment and a P4,000 fine per count.
Over 12.8 million kilograms of rice were imported in Manila and Cebu from Vietnam by the Bold Bidder between August to November last year which has a market value of P513 million and a dutiable value of P186 million.
None of these shipments were covered by any import permits from the NFA nor documents filed before the agency.
“The rationale behind securing import permits is not merely based on compliance. It is also meant to ensure that the over 2.4 million farming households and or agricultural industry are not adversely affected by the sudden surge in imported rice,” Sevilla further added.\
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