Bureau of Customs files complaints over misdeclared agricultural goods

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has filed criminal complaints before the Department of Justice against 14 individuals, including nine BOC personnel, regarding the misdeclaration of agricultural shipments at the Port of Subic.

Investigators found that six shipments, valued at approximately P17.5 million, were declared as “chicken lollipops” to conceal 15,029 sacks of white onions and 2,164 boxes of carrots. The goods were imported without the necessary Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) from the Bureau of Plant Industry.

The complaints involve the owner and representatives of Berches Consumer Goods Trading, a licensed customs broker, and several customs officials. The officials are accused of violating the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) through willful neglect of duty or facilitating fraud.

Because the shipment value exceeds the P10-million threshold, Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno stated that a second complaint will be filed under the Anti-Agricultural Sabotage Act of 2024. The involved BOC personnel have been placed under preventive suspension.