BY ISMAEL AMIGO, 1st-APLUMA NATIONAL PRESIDENT

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) should intensify its campaign against oil smugglers who are depriving the government millions of pesos in taxes and duties.

The Customs has scored a small victory over certain oil smugglers when it foiled the attempt to bring out P60 million worth of bunker fuel at the Manila North Harbor last week.

Customs Commmissioner Angelito Alvarez ordered the decommissioning of two vessels based on specific provisions of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, particularly Sections 2530 and 3602.

Last January 17, the illegal act of M/V Chelsea crew pumping oil into the M/T China Venture was discovered by Customs agents belonging to the Run After the Smugglers (RATS) division.

According to unimpeachable sources, several oil companies are circumventing the law by declaring their shipment under international bunkering, despite using domestic vessel such as M/V Chelsea.

Under the law, only bunker oil loaded to a foreign vessel is tax free. When loaded to a domestic vessel, bunker oil is subject to duties and taxes.

-000-

Sources also said that M/V Chelsea is allegedly owned by a sister company of an independent oil player. It was a certain Marine Fuels Philippines Inc. (MFPI) to load fuel.

 

"The barge which received the fuel is of local registry and is not qualified to receive exemption from paying the proper dues," the source said.

This operation, according to my source, has been going for quite a while because of the huge amount of money that they will pocket by avoiding payment of proper taxes.

Paging Customs Commissioner Alvarez. Look into it sir. For sure, just like in other news items, perpetrators of nefarious activities oftentimes have the blessing of the powers-that-be. 

-000-

Now that he bared that four government officials are involved, one way or another, in the operation of carnapping syndicates in the country, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo must now make sure that there will be no whitewash in the investigation and those guilty would be put behind bars.

Most of the time, investigations initiated by government officials against their colleagues do not prosper, because they are simply protecting their own. 

No wonder, most of the cases pending with several government agencies are gathering dust. In the legal circle, they call it the Mona Lisa situation, where cases "lie there and they die there".

If they are serious in solving the spate of criminality in the country, the Aquino administiision, err, administration, must prosecute to the full extent of the law these government officials who are allegedly in cahoots with syndicates terrorizing the country.

Evil prosper when good men do nothing.

React to 1st-APLUMA through esns03@yahoo.com.