The Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG-7) yesterday held a vessel, docked at pier 7 in Mandaue City since Wednesday, for carrying a load of sand and gravel allegedly for lack of proper documents covering the shipment.
PASG-7 director Ariel Palcuto said his men were able to monitor the vessel, registered under the name F.S. Borja, since it arrived from Southern Leyte.
He said that, upon arrival of F.S. Borja, he dispatched a team headed by operative Alfredo Rolida to the area to verify the report about the vessel’s cargo. At about 1pm, the team of Rolida boarded the vessel and asked from the crew the pertinent documents covering their shipment.
The Rolida team learned that the vessel was loaded with 1,200 cubic meters of sand and gravel from Hindang, Southern Leyte.
One of the crew presented to PASG-7 operatives a delivery receipt issued by the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau-Region 8 dated July 22, 2008, to Concrete Solutions, Inc. that has no identified address in Metro Cebu.
The receipt however covered only 600 cubic meters of sand and gravel, and the shipment has no ore transport permit (OTP) from the DENR.
“Apparently the only half of the shipment is covered with the delivery permit considering that the delivery receipt issued by the Bureau of Mines states a volume of only 600 cubic meters of sand and gravel,” Rolida said in his report to Palcuto.
Ricardo Collantes, PASG-7 deputy director, said the case was already forwarded to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for further investigation to determine the particular violations of Concrete Solutions, Inc. against existing environmental laws.
Rolida said that about a hundred ten-wheeler-truckload of the shipment sand and gravel were already discharged from the vessel. Since each truck can carry a load of 10 cubic meters, only 200 cubic meters remain in the vessel.
PASG-7 is still studying possible violations of the owner of F.S. Borja, said Collantes. — Johnrey Saavedra/RAE