BOC seizes record P72.091-B worth of smuggled goods

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has seized P72.091-billion worth of smuggled goods so far this year, surpassing the level recorded for the full-year 2023 and marking a fresh record for the agency.

In a statement released Sunday, the BOC said it seized P3.09-billion of smuggled goods so far in october 2024, which includes P2.3-billion worth of various commodities, P22.3-million worth of cigarettes, and a P420-million vessel carrying smuggled petroleum products.

The BOC also reported P42.16-million worth of illegal drugs intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), and P323-million worth of smuggled sacks of rice.

This brought the January to October collections to P72.091-billion of smuggled goods, up from P43.29 billion recorded in the full year 2023.

“[F]rom a finance and budgetary point of view, it is an economical form of warfare, because good intelligence saves lives, disarms threats, defuse tensions, and stop conflicts and crimes from happening,” Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said.

“In the case of smuggling of goods, it is a crime that victimizes millions—from farmers who drown from the flood of imported agricultural products, to entrepreneurs whose businesses are choked by unfair trade,” he added.

The BOC—mandated to supervise and control the clearance of vessels and aircraft engaged in foreign commerce—is tasked to collect nearly P1 trillion this year after generating P883.624 billion in revenues in 2023. — BM, GMA Integrated News