BOC chief orders probe of misdeclared, pilfered P30-million gadgets

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Napoleon Morales said yesterday he has ordered an investigation into the misdeclaration and pilferage of P30 million worth of high-end electronic gadgets.

He said he has ordered the BOC’s Internal Inquiry and Prosecution Division (IIPD), headed by lawyer Willie Sarmiento, to determine if BOC personnel committed lapses that resulted in the discovery of the misdeclared goods after the shipment had passed the inspection of several divisions, and to verify reports that some Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) personnel allegedly took some of the confiscated items.

A BOC source said the case folder on the misdeclared goods has yet to be turned over to the IIPD. The BOC recently seized shipments of electronic gadgets, ceramic tiles and frozen chicken with a total value of P54 million.

Sarmiento said he will send out subpoenas to officials and personnel of the Formal Entry Division, Entry Processing Division, and the X-Ray Inspection Project (XIP), where the shipments passed.

He said sending out subpoenas to these BOC offices was only part of standard operating procedures.

Sarmiento said he might even call for representatives of the shipping lines “so we could get a copy of the bill of lading and the manifest.”  

Morales said that these items would be auctioned off to increase the revenue of the bureau.

Workers face raps for taking ‘samples’

Morales said he has already given out instructions on the pilferage case. “IIPD would issue a memorandum to those who took the samples to give their explanation within 72 hours why no administrative case should be filed against them. The 72 hours would start upon the receipt of the notice. That is what we call due process,” he said.

Morales received reports Wednesday that Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) personnel allegedly took out several boxes of the seized electronic gadgets that were believed to have been stored in Warehouse 159. The items were reportedly to be used as samples or evidence in the seizure case. Sarmiento said he would soon send out subpoenas to concerned Customs officials and personnel.

“We also intend to give subpoena the chief of the Auction and Cargo Disposal Division of the Port of Manila (PoM). Warehouse 159 is under the ACDD of the PoM. The inventory is with them,” he added.

Sarmiento said they will ascertain if pilferage indeed took place. He said that it might not even be correct to say that the items were “missing” since these are reportedly still in the office of the CIIS.

 “Technically, we do not have a storage area except the warehouse. But sometimes, those who would present the evidence in hearings find it easier to keep the items with them,” he said.