CUSTOMS Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon has ordered an intensified campaign against smuggling with the expected surge of smuggling attempts with the coming of the Christmas Season.
Biazon ordered the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), its postal unit, to beef up the agency’s intelligence network to stop smuggling syndicates that will try to sneak in goods through the ports, airports and postal service.
“We are also on the look out for the usual items that smugglers ship in during the holidays such as firecrackers and gun replicas or toy guns,” Biazon told reporters.
CIIS Postal Unit head Alvin Enciso said there was a marked improvement in the network of the agency’s Intelligence Group which has proven effective in ferreting out suspicious shipments and parcels.
“It is important to ensure that these products go through the processes not only because of government losses but also to protect the public from unsafe products that do not adhere to safety standards,” Enciso said.
“We are on high alert this Christmas Season, that is one of the peak seasons for smugglers.”
Enciso said the agency has been able to get profiles of the shipments before these reach the Philippines, a measure that will help the BOC in stopping the entry of substandard products.
He added that so far, BOC’s Postal Unit has been able to plug the loopholes in the system and is currently monitoring goods that enter the unit, ensuring that all shipments are properly inspected and have paid the necessary duties and taxes.
Last week Biazon said he would also go after smugglers of wood products in response to a letter of the Philippine Wood Producers Association (PWPA) requesting the government to act on the rampant smuggling of plywood from China.
PWPA said since April this year, about 200 to 450 40-foot container loads of plywood are being brought into the country each month. These are unmarked plywood from China, which according to the PWPA are of substandard quality. The PWPA claims that, for most of these importations, their duties were either not paid or misdeclared.
According to the PWPA, the entry of these cheaper but low-quality plywood from China has taken away almost 25 percent of the local plywood market, unfairly competing with the good-quality locally manufactured plywood products.
