Pre-inspection by BoC of all
rncomtng cargo vans urged
A VETERAN congrcssman on Thursday urged the
B-ureau of Customs (BoC) to implement tf,e pre,
shipment inspection of aIl incomirig container vins.
"Obviously, govemment agencies-- the BoC and the
DoF (Department of Finance) don,t want to know
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what is inside the containet varu. They are merelv
dependent on the declaration of import6rs. lndusii,
analystssaythataminimurnof p20G6 ionislosteverir
year due to unabated smugglin&,, said Buhay Havaani
Yumabong (Buhay) Party-list Rep. Lito Ati'mza. '
"The Cwtocrs Modeniizationaid Tadff Act (CMIA)
waspassed in 2015 but it was never implemented th6
pre-inspection provision specified in 3;ec. a+O-ttut
container vans shouldbe iruiected at their Dorts oforisin
"They should be cleared at the port oforigin bef6re
..
sNpmen-t. When t}re Duterte adminishation cime in, we
exp-ected that it would be implemented, but rmtil now,
nothing has changed. Obvious ly, the DcF is not ke€non
lts unplementatioo" Atienza said.
During his plenary budget interpellation of Sultan
Kudamt Rep. Horacio Suansing, J r., the vice chainrvn
of th€ Committee on Appropriation6, Atienza pointed
out iha t Finance Sec. Cailos Dominguez Itr had Lsured
tum way back in 2016 that he would enJorce the pre_
shipment inspection provision.
He said Dbminguiz just asked for time to study the
la w and reyiew it trrore dosely, assuring Atienza tl|at the
-on
new adminishation is bent enfordng the law and
cubint the rampan t sm uggling that exisied in the Dast.
"But now, three years have passed, and vet the'ore-
shipmmt inspectioir provisiori remaing uninforcei. It
will be recalled that two shipments of shabu. wo*h
a bout P l3-billioo had entered the country through
our
piers, in container varu which were'uninsp"ected.
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A€cordrg to Cong. Suansing there are aro,rn i fZ,OOO
contalner vans comrng lnto our ports evervdav. Onlv a
small fraction gets inspected, wlrile the resi ar6 .U o*td
to come in-usint the treen lanes even, hindi pa rin na tin
atam ang laman ng lar_arnihan, giving big-fime smug-
glers a holiday," said Dominzuez. "
"The uninspected vans corld contain shabu or other
conbabard shi?ments. And I'm sure maly of these are
undeclared and undervalued. Kung gusbo nating pigitin
pB s-rnuggung, rto ang paraan. Kung gusto nating
kumita ng rnas higit ang gbbyemo, i to ine oaraan. Mi
question therefore is verfdeir aad simoii'_ whv is it
that yo! are dragging your feet in its imbbmenta'tion?
lvenatterCustomsBureauchiefu hadreiommended to
him thefull implementation of the pre-shi Dment insDec_
tion. Pinahihirapan na tin lagi ang iaonebiyan sa bui^/is.
l'ero ang buwis na dapat kinokolekta, hhiti natin pina_
paruir;" Atienza added. Ryan ponco paciac!
P6€€+