Airport officials burn seized meats

CEBU, Philippines – Airport officials yesterday destroyed an estimated 200 kilos of assorted processed and frozen meats that they confiscated from arriving passengers due to lack of permits.

The meat products were placed inside a huge barrel before they were set on fire, said Doctor Arnie Delas Marias, quarantine officer of the Bureau of Animal Industry at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

Delas Marias said the meats were earlier sequestered from passengers coming from Japan, Hong Kong and Korea covering the period December 2015 to January 2016.

"(They) have no import permits. That means (they were) smuggled. Bisan gamay ang dad-on, bisan og personal consumption or as pasalubong ra, dili gyud pwede," she said.

Yesterday's burning was witnessed by other officials of the airport, including those from GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., Bureau of Customs, Commission on Audit, and Aviations Security Unit-7.

According to BOC guidelines, all food and drinks, whether for human or animal consumption, must have import permits from one of the following agencies:  Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Bureau of Plant Industry, Food and Drug Administration or Bureau of Animal Industry.

Delas Marias said the activity was their way of informing the public that they are doing their job of ensuring food security amid allegations that airport employees would take home goods seized from passengers.

"This is to show to the people nga among gisunog, wala namo gikaon. Maka-demoralize baya na sa among trabaho (The allegations can be demoralizing. This is to show to the people that we destroyed them; we did not eat them)," she said.

Delas Marias further said she could not determine the value of the seized meats, but she said they may be expensive since they were bought outside the country. (FREEMAN)