Palace to BOC: How did tainted milk enter RP?

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Friday ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to explain how shipments of two melamine-tainted milk brands were able to enter the country. In a radio report, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza was quoted BY reporters in Malacañang that Customs officials should explain why products under the Greenfood Yili Fresh Milk and Mengniu Drink brands were allowed entry into the Philippines. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III earlier said that the two brands - which tested positive for industrial chemical melamine and eventually banned – could have been smuggled into the country. “Napag-alaman namin na itong dalawang ito ay tila smuggled dahil ang mga nakalagay ay panay Chinese characters (We learned that these two brands seemed to have been smuggled because their product labels only bore Chinese characters)," Duque said. In contrast, he said other similar milk products from China that are registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) have translations on their labels. Trade Industry Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya earlier said that imported products having labels only printed in a language other than English or Filipino may face violations of the Consumer Act of the Philippines. After challenging the BoC to explain itself, Dureza also defended the Department of Health by saying that all laboratory results gathered by accredited testing centers should first be coursed through the health agency before being relayed to the public. The Palace official added that only the DOH and the BFAD have the authority to divulge laboratory tests connected to an “emergency situation" like the melamine scare. “Dapat siguraduhing ng DoH na nakukuntrol nila (ang paglabas ng resulta). Kasi baka mamaya, baka kung sino sino ang ibang laboratory na nagsabi ‘Ah, okay na sa amin,’" Dureza said. Dureza’s statement came after Duque on Friday said that testing center Qualivet should not have released its laboratory results without prior coordination with the DOH or the BFAD. Dureza said the Palace was also in favor of the Health department’s plan to urge the Department of Trade and Industry to take legal actions against the manufacturer and local distributors of the two banned milk products. The Press Secretary also said the government remain confident its trade relations with China will not suffer despite the outbreak of the food scare on China-made products. He even reacted to Chinese ambassador Song Tao’s earlier pronouncement, requesting the Filipinos not to “exaggerate" on the matter. He said it was not wrong to “exaggerate" at this time because the health safety of millions of Filipinos is at stake. “They (DOH and BFAD) are just doing what is necessary especially at an emergency situation like this," Dureza added. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV