ECONOMIST-LAWMAKER Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has praised the Bureau of Customs (BOC) under Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio for his swift action in connection with the supposed resale of millions worth of smuggled cigarettes.

“I commend Commissioner Rubio for immediately taking action on the suspected resale of seized cigarettes,” Salceda said in a statement Tuesday.

Earlier, it was reported that the BOC was looking to cooperate with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in getting to the bottom of the contraband resale racket involving P270 million worth of cigarettes.

Rubio vowed that heads would roll among agency personnel involved in it.

Meanwhile, Salceda highlighted his measure, the proposed Anti-Illicit Tobacco Trade Act, which contained provisions that would prevent such resale from happening.

“At any given time, there are billions’ worth of smuggled or illicit cigarettes in government storages,” said the House Committee on Ways and Means chairman.

“In my House Bill (HB) No. 11286, or the Anti-Illicit Tobacco Trade Act, which the House approved on third reading, I proposed the immediate destruction of all seized tobacco products, except a small amount retained for evidentiary purposes,” he said.

“As a matter of law, it does not make sense that government has large quantities of smuggled products in storage for evidence,” he noted.

Salceda said that the measure “will decisively stop the practice of selling large volumes of seized smuggled tobacco”.

“We will make official inquiries in writing on whether it is possible to have Congress regularly updated on BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) and BOC’s inventory of illicit goods, particularly excisable goods like tobacco,” he added.

Salceda said transparency in the government’s store of seized goods will help prevent future incidents.

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Ryan Ponce Pacpaco