CDO port performance cited by Customs chief
- Source: http://journal.com.ph/news/nation/cdo-port-performance-cited-by-customs-chief
- Friday, September 29, 2017
- By Paul M. Gutierrez
BUREAU of Customs (BoC) Commissioner Isidro Lapeña cited the officials and employees of the Port of Cagayan de Oro for their exemplary performance in an effort to restore the morale of the bureau which has been badly affected by the ongoing congressional probe on corruption inside the agency highlighted by the successful entry into the country last May of 605 kilos of shabu.
Alvin Enciso, officer-in-charge (OIC) of the port’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), said during Lapeña’s visit, they presented the new customs chief with an inventory of their apprehended shipments for the last three months that include the ‘M/V Jake Vincent Seis,’ which they apprehended last September 8.
The vessel was discovered to be plying the BIMP-EAGA route carrying taxable commercial goods worth over P35 million despite its franchise limiting its operation to Philippine waters.
The BIMP-EAGA refers to the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines East Asia Growth Area that seeks to boost trade and commerce among the participating countries.
The other seized goods, Enciso told this writer, consisted of “misdeclared” items and agricultural products that arrived without the required import permit.
Last month, Enciso said their anti-smuggling operations resulted to the confiscation of a 20-footer van loaded with P1.5 million worth of steel cylinders from China and 2x40-footer vans of red onions worth P5 million also from China.
Last July 20, the port, under Collector Jamail Marohomsalic, also apprehended another 2X40 vans loaded with two units of “dismantled” cargo trucks from Japan worth over P3 million.
Marohomsalic also informed Lapeña that from January to August, the CDO collected a “surplus” revenue of around P1.5 billion, collecting over P8.95 billion from its assigned target of over P7.4 billion.
Lapeña assumed the top customs post last August 30 and quickly moved to restore the agency’s morale by praising the accomplishments of various customs units and collection districts.
Lapeña replaced former Phil. Marines captain, Nicanor Faeldon, who was tagged by Sen. Panfilo Lacson as among those involved in corruption at the agency.
Faeldon and other members of the ‘Grupong Magdalo’ that he brought into the bureau are now also facing criminal charges for their alleged involvement in the smuggling of shabu into the country. The incident remains the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.