BOC confiscates banned shipment

CEBU, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs-Port of Cebu seized a banned refrigerant named R12 and the regulated refrigerant named 143A that came from China.

Conrado Abarintos, acting head of the Assessment Division, said they inspected the said shipment yesterday together with a representative from the Philippine Ozone Desk of the Environment and Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The market value of the shipment, Abarintos, said, was more or less P450,000. It contained in 55 boxes loaded with 110 tanks at 13.6 kilos each.

Abarintos said since R12 is a prohibited importation, this was confiscated in favor of the government or can be returned to the port of origin which is China while the regulated 143A can be bid out in a public auction among accredited importers of such products.

Abarintos added that even if the 143A is a regulated refrigerant, still BOC seized it since the importer did not have a pre-shipment importation clearance from the POD-EMB-DENR.

Both refrigerants are used for cooling the airconditioners and R12 was already banned as it can reportedly cause damage to the ozone layer.

 DENR-7 information officer Eddie Llamedo said any shipment not covered by an importation clearance shall be deemed illegally imported and shall be confiscated and forfeited in favor of the government.

 Likewise, any transaction not covered under the terms and conditions of the Pre-Shipment Importation Clearance shall be considered a violation, Llamedo said in a statement.

  CFC-12 or R12 is one of the controlled substances banned since 2010 with an ODS potential of 1.0 commonly used in refrigerants and propellants.

“It means the importation of this chemical is no longer allowed,” Llamedo said.  (FREEMAN)