SMUGGLING in the country has been relentless because of the anomalous and corrupt activities of officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), an executive of the agriculture group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) yesterday told senators.
SINAG president Rosendo So made the statement during the hearing of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform on proposed amendments to RA 10845, or the law that categorized large-scale agricultural smuggling as economic sabotage.
So said no big-time smuggler has so far been convicted because customs personnel are involved in the illegal activity, starting with the entry of products, to investigation, and up to the filing of appropriate charges.
So said there have been instances that BOC examiners would under valuate seized products so the offense will not fall under economic sabotage, which has a penalty of life imprisonment under RA 10845.
Another BOC modus, he added, is to submit incomplete documents to the courts so the complaints will be dismissed.
He also said that on other occasions, customs personnel who are expected to stand as court witnesses against suspected smugglers do not appear during the hearings, again prompting the dismissal of the cases.
So said the agricultural sector has incurred around P30 billion in losses per year due to smuggling.
Customs Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla, of the Post Clearance Audit Group, admitted that the bureau has a “number of personnel” who are engaged in irregularities.
Maronilla said the BOC leadership has already ordered a review of all of the arrests and seizures made by the bureau to address the anomalies and other loopholes in the system.
To deter corruption among personnel, Maronilla proposed that lawmakers come up with a standard basis for valuation of seized products so that examiners will be stripped of the discretion to determine the value of confiscated products.
“I-standardize natin ang valuation for purposes of filing of cases. Sa ilalim ng current batas, ang value ay nasa discretion pa rin ng examiners namin. Iyon din kasi ang basis for computation of duties. Sa palagay ko, iba ‘yung pag-determine ng taxation sa pag-determine ng threshold value for purposes of establishing lang ‘yung threshold natin na mag-qualify sila for agricultural smuggling (The valuation should be standardized for purpose of filing cases. Under the current law, the valuation of seized items is the discretion of our examiners because that is also the basis for the computation of duties. I think the determination of taxation should be different from determining the threshold value for purposes of establishing only the threshold for them to qualify under agricultural smuggling),” he said.
SINGLE WINDOW SYSTEM
Sen. Cynthia Villar, committee chairperson, slammed the BOC for not implementing the national single window system, a computerized system in determining the value of seized items.
“Matagal na kayong sinasabihan to implement the national single window system na lahat ay computerized. Bakit ayaw niyong i-implement? (You have long been ordered to implement the national single window system so that everything will be computerized. Why don’t you implement it?)” Villar said, adding the system will stop the under valuation of confiscated items.
Maronilla said the bureau was supposed to implement the system way back in 2014 but the winning bidder was sued by the losing bidder. He failed to elaborate further after he was cut short by Villar.
The lady senator said the Philippines is the only Asian country without the singe window system in place and insinuated that the BOC do not want to implement the system “for unknown reasons.”
“Tayo na lang ang wala. Kasi sa national single window system, wala nang pakialam ang personnel ng Customs. Lahat computerized (We are the only country which does not have it. Under the national single window system, BOC personnel do not play any role in valuating products. All is computerized),” Villar said.
Maronilla said the system will work better once the Department of Agriculture (DA) sets up First Border Facilities where all agricultural products are screened before they enter the country.
FIRST BORDER FACILITIES
Villar then turned to the DA for not setting up the First Border Facilities even as funds have already been allotted for their constructions since 2019.
The facilities are supposed to be put up in Subic, Batangas, Cebu, and Davao with the primary purpose of inspecting imported agricultural products to stop smuggling and the entry of contaminated agricultural products.
“Nilagyan na ‘yan nung 2019 ng budget eh, bakit di nila in-implement? Ngayon nilagyan na naman namin ng budget, ayaw na naman implement eh, wala raw policy tungkol doon.
Ngayon lang ako nakarinig ng walang policy tungkol sa First Border Facilities. Nasa batas ‘yun eh, paano ba ‘yun? Papasa ba ‘yun sa GAA kung walang policy doon? (We allotted funds for it in 2019 but why was it not implemented? Now, we have also allotted funds for it in the 2023 national budget and yet the DA still does not want to implement it because they are saying that there is no policy for it. But that is already a law. Do you think it will be included in the General Appropriations Act if there is no policy for it?)” Villar said.
“Alam niyo kapag di niyo ginagawa ‘yan alam naman na ayaw niyong tumulong eh kasi gusto niyong gumawa ng pera dyan, Nagkakahiyaan pa tayo (If you don’t want to implement it, that means you don’t want to help [stop smuggling], because you want to make money. Don’t be shy about that),” she added.
DEATH PENALTY
Sen. Robin Padilla proposed the imposition of the capital punishment on law enforcers who will be found guilty of involvement in the smuggling of agricultural products.
In filing Senate Bill No. 2214, Padilla sought to introduce amendments to Section 4 of RA 10845 by punishing erring law enforcement agency personnel with the death penalty.
“Ako po ay nakapag-file na ng measure (I have filed a proposed measure), An Act Amending Sec 4 of RA 19845 otherwise known as the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act, thereby imposing death penalty when the offense is committed by a personnel of the BOC (Bureau of Customs), AFP, PNP or any other uniformed or law enforcement agency,” Padilla manifested during the hearing.
In a statement, Padilla said imposing the capital punishment on uniformed personnel will send a strong message that large-scale smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, and cartel of agricultural products committed, especially by BOC personnel, are heinous crimes which should be meted the death penalty.
Padilla earlier filed Senate Bill No. 2042 which also seeks the imposition of the capital punishment on government security personnel involved in murder.
Capital punishment was restored in the country in 1993 but was abolished in 2006. The reimposition of the death penalty has been met with strong opposition by a number of lawmakers and human rights organizations due to the country’s flawed justice system.
The bill to restore capital punishment has been stalled since 2017. In 2020, Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Emanuel Pacquiao have pushed for its reimposition but limited only to drug-related offenses, but their efforts did not prosper.
