Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the bureau is now readying criminal charges against Powezone Petroleum Products Corp., the importer and consignee of the 424,000 gallons of used oil carried by the Cheryll Ann barge.
Although it turned out during the investigation that the shipment was used oil and not hazardous wastes as the bureau earlier had suspected, Morales said they would pursue the case against Powezone since the cargo did not have any valid documents from the bureau.
"The records showed that the owner failed to secure any clearance or other documents to justify the importation," he said.
Cheryll Ann, which was being towed by the tugboat Jacob 1, left Palau on Aug. 16 and arrived at the Port of Surigao on Aug. 22.
The shipment was immediately put on hold following reports that it might be hazardous and was intended for dumping in the country.
But even before the shipment arrived in the country, Customs operatives had been alerted about the shipment from Palau.
During the investigation by the bureau’s Enforcement and Security Service led by Nestorio Gualberto, the used oil was discovered to have come from a storage tank of the Aimeliik power plant in the Republic of Palau after it was used in the construction of a compact road there.
Morales said they obtained documents, including the request for bunkering, showing that the shipment was headed for North Harbor in Manila.
He said the importation of used oil is strictly regulated, adding that clearances from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are required prior to importation.
"As the implementing agency of tariff and Customs laws, we cannot allow the importation of used oil in the absence of such documents," he said.
Morales has issued a hold order for the shipment and instructed the Customs district collector of the Port of Surigao to release the warrant of seizure and detention for the imported used oil for violation of Customs laws.
He said he has recommended that the shipment be returned to its port of origin.