Palace vows to run after oil smugglers big and small

A Malacañang official on Wednesday assured the public that the government will go after oil smugglers whether the companies involved are big or small players in the industry. “Sa smuggling, kesihodang sino ka man, pagka-involved ka, iimbestigahan ka,” said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda at a briefing, following reports that more than a third of oil in the country are smuggled in. “The Bureau of Customs, the Department of Finance, they are colorblind as to whoever are these smugglers. Whether you’re big or small, if you’re involved in smuggling, if there’s evidence of smuggling, tell us, we will investigate,” Lacierda added. Lacierda urged the public to cooperate in solving the problem. “[If] there are other officials also who are involved, [who may] not necessarily be with Customs, if you have leads or evidence leading to their participation in this crime, then we will be more than happy to investigate,” he said, noting that individuals in cahoots with smugglers will also be apprehended. “It really depends on the dedication of people who should be impervious to bribes. But we recognize that there are some people who are in cahoots with smugglers and so this is primarily a law enforcement issue,” Lacierda said. He also said the government will revisit importation rules to try and prevent the smuggling. “We’re looking at it as how to tighten the rules on importation and, for that reason, you would have to look into the procedure and processes on how we should be able to curb smuggling.” In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the volume of oil imports on record was lower than the actual demand indicated by data from the Department of Energy. Current data from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) show that only 67.6 million barrels of oil were imported in the same year, "signifying a discrepancy of 39.3 million barrels that [were] likely made up through smuggling," the DOF said. Under the BOC's Run After The Smugglers (RATS) campaign, nine cases have been filed against oil smugglers since the start of the Aquino administration, with "total dutiable value of products amounting to P38.68 billion," said the DOF.  — Patricia Denise Chiu/KBK, GMA News