BOC donates seized clothes, shoes to Ompong victims

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Monday donated seized secondhand and brand new clothes and shoes for victims of Typhoon Ompong.

The items — 130 bales of used clothes, 32 boxes of new shoes, and five bales of new t-shirts, all from China — were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution.

The goods were donated to DSWD in compliance with the directive of Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña to release all abandoned or forfeited used clothing and other goods for distribution to the victims of recent calamity.

"We have directed all the regional offices that upon arrival of the donations, it should go directly to the beneficiaries," said Social Welfare Secretary Virginia Orogo, who accepted the donation.

"When we transport these goods, it will go directly to the victims of typhoon Ompong especially the northern part of the country and some parts here in Luzon."

District Collector lawyer Erastus Sandino Austria said the goods were examined both by the DSWD and the BOC "to ensure that these will not pose health hazards to the intended recipients."

Section 1141 (Mode of Disposition) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) provides that the goods subject to disposition may be donated to another government agency or declared for official use of the BOC after approval of the Secretary of Finance, or sold at a public auction. —KBK, GMA News