Six BOC personnel relieved from posts over alleged sugar smuggling

Six personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) have been relieved from their posts over alleged smuggling of sugar at the Port of Subic.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said the personnel were transferred to the Office of the Commissioner pending a probe into the incident.

"May mga transferred na ilang mga Customs officials pending investigation of their participation in an alleged smuggling, 'yung nakalagay sa office order, of sugar at Port of Subic," Cruz-Angeles said.

(Some Customs officials were transferred pending investigation of their participation in an alleged smuggling in at Port of Subic.)

"Temporarily inassign po sila o trinansfer po sila sa Office of the Commissioner while the investigation is ongoing," she added.

(Temporarily, they were assigned at the Office of the Commissioner.)

She identified the concerned personnel as the following:

• Maritess Theodossis Martin, district collector;
• Maita Sering Acevedo, deputy collector for assessment;
• Giovanni Ferdinand Aguillon Leynes, deputy collector for operations;
• Belinda Fernando Lim, chief of assessment division;
• Vincent Mark Solamin Malasmas, Enforcement Security Service (ESS) commander; and
• Justin Roman Silvoza Geli, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) supervisor.

The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said there was an attempt to smuggle some 140,000 bags of sugar from Thailand last week at the said port.

Based on an initial probe, a recycled permit was supposedly used for the importation.

Earlier, Cruz-Angeles warned that heads would roll in the BOC if proven that its port personnel are "in connivance with smugglers using recycled sugar import permits."

Cagayan de Oro

Meanwhile, authorities inspected warehouses in Cagayan de Oro suspected of hoarding sugar, the OPS said on Wednesday.

Operatives from the BOC exercised their visitorial powers in a warehouse owned by Crystal Sugar Milling Inc. in North Poblacion.

The operation was conducted after authorities received an intelligence report that the owner was allegedly involved in sugar hoarding.

The CIIS said a total of 466,142 sacks of sugar were included in their inventory following the operation in the said warehouse.

The OPS said warehouse manager Javier Sagarbarria had told authorities that the person holding the pertinent sugar transaction documents was not present when the inspection took place.

Through the operations, Cruz-Angeles said the administration and the public could see the real state of the country's sugar industry, noting that authorities can determine if there is really shortage in the supply.

"Ang mahalaga po, nakikita natin 'yung tunay na estado ng merkado natin — may asukal ba talaga diyan, paubos ba talaga nitong end of the month. Kung hindi naman at mayroon palang asukal diyan pero for some reason hindi nailalabas, legitimate or not, then at least makikita natin kung tama ba 'yung pag-i-import natin o tama ba ang pag-compute sa importation natin," she said.

(What is important is that we see the real state of sugar in the market, if there is really a shortage by the end of the month. If there is enough supply of sugar then at least we could see the right amount to be imported.) —KG, GMA News