Arson eyed, Mangaoang calls in NBI: P100M lost in Customs fire

It was a fire the cash-strapped government needed like a hole in the head.

Up to P100 million in government property and seized highly dutiable imported goods went up in precious smoke when an early morning fire destroyed a Cebu Port Authority warehouse used by the Bureau of Customs at the Cebu International Port.

Cebu Customs district collector Lourdes Mangaoang said seized imported goods destroyed in the fire could reach P100 million.

Burned inside the warehouse were 22 assorted brand new vehicles of which eight were luxury cars that included four Kia Sorentos, two Starex vans and two Musso Rextons. Thirty-six big motorcycles suffered the same fate.

Burned along with the 22 vehicles inside the building were 30 container vans of assorted loose cargo, Mangaoang said.

In addition, there were about a hundred seized surplus vehicles parked beside the building that were severely damaged from the heat, she said.

Mangaoang said most of the seized valuables destroyed in the fire had been in the building for at least five years, the resolution of their cases bogged down by bureaucratic red tape.

The Customs official said the 22 seized imported vehicles were to have been auctioned on the third week of August, with the government expecting to generate up to P30 million in proceeds from the sale. That is now money down the drain.

The building itself, built in 1985 at a cost of P50 million, is huge, with a floor area of 8,000 square meters.

The fire is expected to greatly affect the collection target of the bureau for July and possibly August. The bureau had a collection target of P342 million for July and P300 million for August.

Aside from losses to the government, the fire also proved costly to at least one private entity, the Cebu Doctors University Hospital.

Some P10 million worth of medical equipment imported by the hospital, stored temporarily in the warehouse while the import documents were being processed, were also lost in the fire.

Mangaoang, who has not ruled out the possibility of arson, said she is requesting the NBI to conduct a parallel probe to that being undertaken by fire authorities.

Mangaoang theorized that if arson was involved, it was most likely to cover for any pilferage of confiscated goods that may have occurred.

The Customs official, however, assured the public that nothing would be stolen under her watch.

Fire authorities have so far determined that the fire started at 3:55 a.m. at Starlite Cargo Express, a forwarding company leasing space at the warehouse. It was first discovered by company security guard Elmer Tanawan.

Other offices occupying space at the warehouse and which were similarly burned were those of the Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation, the PNP Maritime Police and the Customs Wharfinger.

Fire fighting efforts were interrupted when SWAT ordnance experts had to be called in to clear the PNP Maritime Police armory of any explosives.

At least two grenades and several rounds of ammunition were retrieved and disabled by the bomb squad.