Importers set strike vs PASG

MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of Customs brokers, truckers, importers and other port users will stage a nationwide strike on Tuesday to protest the alleged “indiscriminate and illegal” withholding of shipments by the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).

The protest action, dubbed as “Customs brokers-truckers holiday,” is projected to paralyze operations at all the country’s ports, according to the organizers.

In a press conference yesterday, various organizations in the import sector called for the abolition of PASG.

Honorato Colico, chairman of the Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP), said PASG “arbitrarily withheld and impounded” hundreds of containerized cargoes coming from the Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port without any legal basis for over two weeks now.

The container vans were reportedly brought to private compounds in Dagat-Dagatan, Navotas and San Marcelino and Luneta Park in Manila.

In a radio program, PASG chief Antonio Villar Jr. defended the impounding of the containers, saying it is necessary for random verification due to reports that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) fraudulently released the shipments.

However, Professional Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCBAPI) president Agapito Mendez Jr. said PASG does its own assessment and collection of additional duties and taxes without the participation of BOC personnel.

He said only the BOC is allowed by the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines to assess and collect duties and taxes for imports and exports.

The groups asked President Arroyo to strengthen the BOC; fully implement Republic Act 9280, the Customs Broker Act of 2004; stop the impounding of container trucks without valid reasons; and a clear-cut policy on alert and hold orders.

The groups threatened to continue their strike for weeks unless their demands are met. The groups said they lost more than P1 billion in revenue as a result of PASG’s arbitrary impounding of shipments. – Nestor Etolle