Remulla estimates billions in losses due to oil smuggling

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Wednesday said the Philippine government may be losing billions of pesos due to syndicates involved in oil pilferage and oil smuggling.

“Kanina kasama namin ang BIR pagkatapos niyo kausapin si Commissioner (Romeo) Lumagui at humingi kami sa kanila ng estimate ng nawawalang revenue sa atin,” Remulla said in a media briefing.

(We were with the BIR earlier after your interview with Commissioner Lumagui and we asked them for an estimate on our revenue loss.)

“At sa aking tingin, pwedeng umabot ito ng daang bilyon na nawawala sa atin dahil sa mga sindikatong nananaig sa paihi ng fuel,” he added.

(And I think that we are losing hundreds of billions because of syndicates who are involved in smuggling of fuel.)

He first flagged the smuggling or pilferage of oil or the “paihi” following the consecutive sinking of motor tankers in the waters off Bataan in July.

On July 25, the MKTR Terranova capsized and sank 3.6 nautical miles east off Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan, with one crew member reported to have died.

Meanwhile, the MTKR Jason Bradley — another vessel that sank in the waters off Mariveles, Bataan, on July 27 — was carrying 5,500 liters of diesel, and was also found to have leaks.

A third vessel, the MV Mirola 1 ran aground near the shore of  Mariveles town. Oil was seen flowing into the ocean from tanks inside the motor vessel.

According to Remulla, the incident opened another “pandora’s box” in the Philippines that was “silently tolerated for the longest time.”

“Ito yung paihi na tinatawag. Dalawang klaseng paihi yan. Yung isa, yung sa suppliers ng oil, talagang humihigop talaga sila ng porsyento ng langis… Ito yung Batangas-based group na in-charge ng paihi. Pilferage of oil na matagal nang nananaig na sindikato,” he said.

(This is the so-called paihi. There are two kinds. One is where the suppliers get a percentage of oil… this is the Batangas-based group. Pilferage of oil that the syndicate has been doing for a long time.)

“Yung pangalawang paihi naman, itong sa tax ano, sa smuggling na tinatabihan sila ng ibang barko, mag lalabas sila ng fuel na hindi pa nababayaran at hindi pa na markahan ng Bureau of Customs,” he added.

(The second is the smuggling of oil where fuel will be brought out of one boat to another without being paid and without being marked by the Bureau of Customs.)

The owner of the MTKR Terranova previously denied allegations that it was involved in oil smuggling.

Remulla, meanwhile, stressed that fuel was one of the country’s top imports.

“Kaya kapag ito ay hindi nag bayad ng buwis, walang sinoli sa atin o kaya nabawasan ng soli yan sa ating sistema, lalo tayong nahihirapan bilang isang bansa. Kaya ito tinitignan namin ng husto kung paano ito aayusin at paano ito maso-solve,” the Justice Secretary said.

(That’s why if there are no taxes paid, there’s no return to the system or there’s a decrease, it causes difficulty to the country. So we are looking into how we can fix and solve this.)

Earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard said that some 300 liters of industrial fuel had been removed from the Terranova with no leaks and minimal oiling effectively contained.

The Office of Civil Defense said 352,179 people in coastal barangays in Cavite have been affected by the oil spill that has reached their shores, with lost income amounting to nearly P18 million each day. --VAL, GMA Integrated News