File photo of Customs chief Ariel Nepomuceno from the Philippine News Agency.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed another round of criminal charges, this time against five cargo companies, over thousands of balikbayan boxes left abandoned in several ports across the archipelago.
According to Customs commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, they have already lodged complaints before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Ikthus Trading Corporation, Marcelo D. Laylo Cargo Forwarders, Me Amoree International Consumer Goods Trading, MT De Guzman Non-Specialized Wholesale Trading and Cargoflex Haulers Corporation over multiple violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).
Nepomuceno disclosed that the complaints cover a total of 3,176 boxes that were left undelivered or improperly handled by the five companies in the last three years. The number is part of the 42,063 balikbayan boxes that the BOC found were left abandoned by 11 erring cargo firms in various ports.
“Many of the parcels contained food, medicines, clothing, and other items painstakingly collected by OFWs over several months for their families back home—a tradition among migrant workers and a symbol of progress for many of them,” the Customs chief noted.
“When we heard their stories, we learned that they had been collecting the contents of these boxes for months and they set aside a portion of their income, which we also learned was not so much,” he added.
Since October last year, the BoC has flagged 11 companies over the balikbayan boxes that became the subject of the Bureau’s investigation.
So far, the BOC found that these companies were involved in fraudulent misdeclaration and undervaluation of goods, unauthorized deconsolidation activities, outright smuggling, non-declaration of commercial goods, importation of prohibited and regulated items and intellectual property rights violations.