Pinuri ni House Ways and Means Chair Joey Sarte Salceda si Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio sa kahanga-hangang tagumpay ng Bureau of Customs (BOC) sa pagsamsam ng tumataginting na P35.4 bilyong halaga ng methamphetamine o shabu.
Natuklasan ang mga ipinagbabawal na gamot na nakatago sa loob ng mga shipment ng beef jerky at teabags sa mga major port ng Subic at Manila International Container Port.
Sa isang pahayag, pinuri ni Salceda si Rubio at iginiit na ang dalawang magkahiwalay na interdiction effort ay ang “largest ever catch by any Customs Commissioner.”
“In Subic, they caught some 560 kilos, or a combined worth of around P3.9 billion based on the per-kilo estimates of the Dangerous Drugs Board. In Manila International Container Port, they caught around 4.45 tons, which is close to P31.5 billion in value. So, you’re looking at a combined value of around P35.4 billion,” aniya.
Sa pagbibigay-diin sa bigat ng sitwasyon, ipinunto ng Albay 2nd district representative na, “The lethal dose of meth is around 200 mg. So, what was caught is enough to kill 25 million Filipinos all at once. This is a serious accomplishment on the part of the BOC, but it also signifies that there is a serious systemic problem.”
Paliwanag pa niya, “The shipment in Subic was caught hidden in tea bags, while the one in MICP was hidden in a shipment of beef jerky.”
Idiniin pa ng mambabatas ang kahalagahan ng matinding paglaban sa mga kriminal na aktibidad sa mga daungan ng bansa, at sinabing, “If criminal syndicates think that they can use our ports to ship shabu into the country, then they probably believe that anything can pass through our ports.”
“So, we have to be stricter and more vigilant against smuggling, because if drugs can come in, pretty much anything can come in.”
Binigyang-diin din ni Salceda ang kahalagahan ng pagpapahusay sa intelligence gathering at enforcement capacity ng BOC. Aniya, “The Committee on Ways and Means is working with the BOC to fight smuggling in goods such as tobacco, agricultural products, and petroleum.”
Nagpahayag din siya ng mga alalahanin sa pagtaas ng mga pag-import ng petrolyo, at binanggit na “Cheap smuggled excisable products will kill important industries such as refining, and will also harm collections of taxes in licit tobacco and alcohol. It will also snuff the life out of the domestic agriculture sector before our farmers have the chance to prepare to compete in the world market.”
Sinabi ni Salceda na ang pinakamahusay na investment na maaaring gawin ng Customs ay “intelligence gathering, since that is how you catch them. By tapping into their networks.”
“You only know what to catch if you know what’s coming. So, intel gathering is everything in Customs enforcement.”
Nagpahayag din siya ng suporta para sa karagdagang pondo para sa intelligence gathering efforts, at binanggit ang pagiging epektibo nito sa paghuli ng mga kriminal.
Dagdag pa rito, nanawagan si Salceda ng pagpapalawak ng kapasidad ng BOC na subaybayan ang mga private ports, partikular sa petrolyo.
“Smuggling and drug trafficking of this scale can only come from a sense that the system cannot catch them. So, we need to strengthen the system. Catching individual smugglers won’t be enough,” pagtatapos niya.
Photo credit: Office of Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda