Sugar, rice stocks not smuggled, says Caloocan warehouse officer

An officer of a warehouse in Caloocan City earlier raided by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) denied the P232 million worth of sugar and rice stocks inside their building were smuggled.

According to Jun Veneracion’s report on “24 Oras,” Customs agents on Monday found 13,000 sacks of imported sugar and 66,000 sacks of rice  inside the said establishment. 

The Office of the Press Secretary in a statement said the products were smuggled

But the administrator of the warehouse denied the allegations.

“Hindi tayo nagho-hoard ng asukal. Ito is for industrial use kaya sya nandidito kasi mayroon na siyang purchase order. Hindi lang mai-deliver agad kasi walang ganitong kalaking bodega or warehouse yung mga nag-purchase sa atin,” administrative officer Mary Joy Santos said.

(We do not engage in hoarding. These are for industrial use. They are here because they were already purchased. We cannot deliver them right now because the buyer does not have a warehouse big enough to store the items.)

Santos explained they usually have thousands of bags of agricultural products in the warehouse due to the big number of orders from their industrial clients.

The establishment was ordered close on Monday, August 22. The owners said that while they understand the administration’s efforts against smuggling, they lament that the closure forced some 1,000 employees to be temporarily out of work.

Authorities have given the owners 15 days to submit documents proving the legality of the agricultural products stored inside their building. The owners said they have already submitted several paperwork but appealed to have the process expedited.

“Kung ilang araw kami isasarado, yun din ang epekto sa pagtakbo ng negosyo hindi lang sa negosyante pero dun din sa mga empleyado nag nagta-trabaho dito,” Santos said.

(The closure does not only affect the business, but even the workers.)

BOC said it has started an inventory of the items in the said warehouse.—Sundy Locus/LDF, GMA News