P24.3B smuggled goods seized by gov’t in 2022
Nearly half consisted of illegal drugs
THE government, thru the Bureau of Customs (BOC), confiscated assorted smuggled goods last year, totaling some P24.3 billion, of which nearly half, or P11.95 billion, consisted of illegal drugs.
Retired Philippine Army M/General Juvymax Uy, the bureau’s Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence (DCI) and Atty. Teddy Raval, Deputy Commissioner for Enforcement (DCE), in a report to Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz, said that in 2022, the BOC effected 709 seizures of smuggled goods broken down into three major categories: illegal drugs, P11.95 billion; counterfeit goods, P7.69 billion; and agricultural products, P1.87 billion.
The officials noted that in line with the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. and Ruiz to protect the country’s farmers, the BOC has already classified all importations of agricultural products as “high-risk commodities,” except those falling under the “SGL” (Super Green Lane) that resulted to 137 incidents of seizure.
In addition, 200 “Letters of Authority” (LOA) signed by Ruiz were also implemented last year, of which 109 yielded positive results.
Meanwhile, of the 193 “AOs” (alert orders) issued by the bureau’s 17 collection districts, 120 AOs yielded “positive” for violating pertinent customs laws, rules, and regulations.
Thru the Risk Management Office (RMO) under the IG (Intelligence Group), some 89 percent resulted in the issuance of a WSD (Warrant of Seizure and Detention) after non-intrusive (X-Ray) and actual physical inspection.
Uy said the BOC’s “improved” risk management system (RMS) had helped them in their Intelligence and enforcement capabilities.
Compared to 2021, last year’s accomplishments against smuggling by the BOC were slightly lower, whereas the IG’s reported total haul for 2021 reached more than P28 billion from 775 incidents of foiled smuggling attempts.
However, the increase in the value of seized drugs last year is also a reflection of Ruiz’s former job as a bemedaled regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) before he came to the BOC in 2017 as director of the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS/Customs Police), the operating arm of the EG.
In 2021, topping the list of the BOC’s confiscated smuggled goods were counterfeit products amounting to P21.651 billion, while the amount of confiscated agricultural products reached P1.23 billion.
