SBMA blames Bureau of Customs for late discovery of shabu shipment

MANILA, Philippines - The investigation by the independent panel created by the Palace into alleged anomalies involving the handling of the P5-billion shabu smuggling case at the Subic Freeport has started with officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) blaming the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for the late discovery of the illegal drug shipment.

SBMA deputy administrator Ramon Egragado testified before the three-man panel chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Carolina Grino-Aquino that Anthony Ang and others who supposedly facilitated the smuggling of over 714.16 kilos of shabu could have not fled out of the country if only Customs officials were able to discover the contraband earlier.

Egragado said the BOC has the full authority to determine the shipment even before the high-grade shabu contained in 73 boxes was loaded off the ferrying vessel because its men are authorized to board delivery vessels while these are docked at the pier.

He said the SBMA had no hand in the confiscation of the contraband.

Although the Subic Bay Freeport Zone is a separate Customs territory and port entry is under the sole authority of the SBMA, Egragado said there are processes that go beyond their mandate like the inspection of on-vessel and off-vessel cargo.

“Participation (as far as arriving ships is concerned) is before and after arrival. We have no authority to board vessels (for cargo inspection),” he said. “The very first to know if there is illegal cargo on a ship is the Bureau of Customs.”

Egragado added that the BOC, the Bureau of Immigration and the port’s quarantine department are authorized to send agents to board berthing vessels for inspection.

SBMA officers can only board ships if an offense is actually being committed on board, he added.

However, Egragado admitted that the authority of allowing ships to depart from the pier belongs to the Seaport Department and the SBMA itself, with proper coordination with the BOC and the immigration bureau.

F/B Shun Fa Xing, which was used to ferry the contraband to the SBMA port, was able to flee after the boxes, declared as containing computer spare parts, were abandoned by Ang and seized.

Egragado said they tried to locate the vessel through the Seaport Department’s radar but failed, as the ship had the size of a medium-sized yacht.

He, however, said they alerted the Philippine Coast Guard about the ship.