CUSTOMS Commissioner John Sevilla on Friday lamented the slow resolution of smuggling-related cases that have been filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In an interview, Sevilla told reporters that while he understands the complexities of the cases before the DOJ, he still hopes that prosecutors handling these cases would find a way to hasten their proceedings.
Sevilla cited the case of Chronic Plastics, which the DOJ took nine months to resolve.
It can be recalled that the Bureau of Custom filed in February criminal charges against Chronic Plastics’s owner Adelfa Eduardo, and the company’s licensed customs brokers Leonora Flores and Sherjun Saldon for the importation of hazardous waste materials from Canada.
It was only on Thursday that the DOJ released its resolution on the case.
“We filed the case against Chronic [last] February and now it’s already November, so it took nine months. Sana naman mas mabilis sa nine months pero nasa kasama namin sa DOJ ito,” Sevilla said.
“Siyempre, sa amin, gusto naming mas mabilis. Huwag kalimutan hindi lang ito legal issue, madami nasaktan,” Sevilla added.
BOC records indicate that 184 smuggling-related cases have been filed before the DOJ, of which 132 are pending preliminary investigation at the justice department, and 38 have been elevated or filed as cases before the courts.
This developed as Sevilla led the filing of smuggling charges against seven officials of Starcraft International Trading Corp., the country’s third-largest rice importer in 2013, and 12 customs brokers in connection with the importation of 45,000 metric tons of rice amounting to at least P1.8 billion last year without the required import permit.
Joel San Juan