Sugar planters urge Customs chief to axe corrupt collectors

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The National Federation of Sugarcane Planters (NFSP) has urged newly appointed Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon to axe the present set of collectors, particularly those identified with smuggling, to boost the bureau's anti-corruption drive.

NFSP president Enrique Rojas, in his letter to Biazon last September 20, said his group is recommending the relief of Customs collectors, particularly those in major ports which were already identified as entry points of smuggled sugar, who have remained in their posts since the time of the Arroyo administration.

"We believe that your predecessor, Commissioner Angelito Alvarez, meant well but his hands were tied because the Customs collectors in major ports identified as smuggling hotspots are the same persons since the time of the Arroyo administration until now," Rojas wrote.

The NFSP also recommended to Biazon other anti-smuggling actions, namely: Immediate prosecution of importers, traders and public officials involved in sugar smuggling; granting to the industry's Sugar Anti-Smuggling Organization (SASO) access to the Inbound Foreign Manifest from sugar producing countries at the BOC to prevent smuggling by misdeclaration; and deputizing of SASO personnel to inspect Customs-bonded warehouses while apprehending suspected smuggled sugar on sight.

"We are aware of the daunting task which you face in the BOC, one of which is to look for the rest of the 2,000 missing container vans that disappeared during transshipment from Manila to Batangas," Rojas said to Biazon.

"While we should still watch out for smuggling by the shiploads, the modus operandi now has shifted to misdeclaration of goods in container vans with the connivance of corrupt Customs personnel … We were also informed that smuggling thru the back door has remained unabated in Mindanao," he said further.

Rojas said the government has lost and continued to lose billions in potential revenues due to sugar smuggling alone, which otherwise could have been used to provide basic services, such as 4Ps coverage, food assistance and health services to our people.  

The sugar industry already has a data base of suspected smugglers, including their areas of operations and warehouses, from information gathered by the SASO under retired police general Joel Goltiao, said Rojas.

He said that in line with President Aquino's thrust for public-private partnership programs, the NFSP welcomes the opportunity of discussing with Biazon how the organization and the sugar industry can collaborate with the BOC to eradicate sugar smuggling and help the agency reach its revenue targets.

NFSP is the oldest national umbrella of sugarcane planters associations and cooperatives established in 1930 with membership of over 30 affiliated associations and cooperatives all over the country, Rojas added. - THE FREEMAN