MANILA, Philippines- Sinabi ng Bureau of Customs (BOC) na nahuli nila ang isang tanker at apat na truck na naglilipat ng “unmarked fuels” sa Port of Batangas.
Ayon kay BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio, ang pinagsamang operasyon na isinagawa ng Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service at ng Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) noong Martes ng gabi ay nagresulta sa pagkahuli sa MTKR Cassandra.
“The subsequent fuel marking testing on the subject fuel yielded failed results, which meant that the fuel did not have proper markings indicating payment of duties and taxes,” ani Rubio.
Nabatid na ito ang nag-udyok sa BOC Port of Batangas na maglabas ng warrant of seizure at detention laban sa subject na gasolina, sasakyang-dagat, at mga trak.
“Our operation against these individuals and groups is not a one-time thing. We have been monitoring them for months and finally, they are now on our hands. It’s the relentless efforts and the commitment of our officers to their mandate that led to the seizure of this tanker and the lorries,” dagdag ni Rubio.
Ang halaga ng nasamsam na sasakyang pandagat ay tinatayang nasa P300 milyon habang ang kargamento ay naglalaman ng 1.8 milyong litro sa P50 kada litro, na tinatayang nagkakahalaga ng P90 milyon. Ang halaga ng mga trak ay P3 milyon bawat isa o P12 milyon.
Sa kabilang banda, binanggit ni CIIS Director Verne Enciso na binabantayan nilang mabuti ang pamamaraang ito na karaniwang kilala bilang “paihi.”
“When we received the information about the illegal activities at the Port of Batangas, we immediately verified it through our sources and made plans to inspect the said port. Our coordination with the local port officers and enforcement units led us to MTKR Cassandra, which we caught in the act of transferring fuel products into the lorries on Tuesday night,” ani Enciso.
Ang mga may-ari, kapitan ng barko, at tripulante ng mga nasamsam na sasakyang-dagat, gasolina, at mga trak ay mahaharap sa posibleng mga kaso dahil sa paglabag sa Seksyon 117 at 1113 na may kaugnayan sa Seksyon 1401 ng Republic Act (RA) 10863, o ang Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), gayundin ang Section 80 ng RA 10963, o ang Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. JAY Reyes
