by RENATO D. PALGAN, MPA, MIR
Field Officer, Port of Manila Field Office
Supervisor, MICP, Port of Subic, and Port of Clark Field Offices
Overall Radiation Safety Officer, XIP
President, Bureau of Customs X-ray Operators Association, Inc.(BOCXOA)
Chairman, BOCXOA Multi-Purpose Cooperative
President, Customs Grayknights Brotherhood, Inc.
Board of Director, Bureau of Customs Employees Association, Inc-POM Chapter
(The views presented in this article represent the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the organizations he represents)
Introduction
Corruption has been a constant debacle of national development of the country. Several cases and reports presented in the media have already shown the existence of the prevalence of corruption in our society. Although the government has initiated a number of anti-corruption strategies, plans and programs, yet, there is still significant level of corruption committed as shown by the lower rating of the Philippines in Global Integrity Report, the Transparency International Report, and other international comparative studies on corruption.
Against this background, this article would like to look into the technical smuggling as a form of corruption in the Bureau of Customs.
The Concept of Technical Smuggling as a Form of Corruption
According to literatures on customs matter as well as a wide array of legal statutes on smuggling, outright smuggling is defined as an act of importing into the country of goods and articles of commerce without the complete government required importation documents or an act of bringing in goods or articles into the country and disposing of the same in the local market without having been cleared by the Bureau of Customs or other authorized government agencies, for the purpose of evading payment of the required correct taxes, duties and other charges due to the government. Technical smuggling, on the other hand, is defined as an act of importing goods into the country through fraudulent, falsified or erroneous declarations, for the purpose of reducing or, if not totally avoid, the payment of the prescribed taxes, duties and other government charges, usually perpetrated by means of 1) misclassification as to nature, quality or value; 2) undervaluation in terms of price, quality or weight; and 3) misdeclaration of the kind of imported articles.
Basing on the aforementioned definitions, it can be surmised that the obvious difference between outright smuggling and technical smuggling, is that, the former does not go through the usual and normal procedures and processes of clearing the cargo at the Bureau of Customs while the latter, although goes through the regular procedures at the Bureau of Customs, has committed some kinds of fraudulent acts during the processing and releasing of cargo to evade the payment of rightful taxes and duties due to the government which, for all intent and purposes in this discussion, is an act of corruption because the unaccounted taxes and duties go to the personal pockets of importer, broker and/or customs official. Based on various newspaper accounts, technical smuggling is the main procedure by which imported goods or cargoes are brought into the country while outright smuggling is just a relatively minor in magnitude compared with technical smuggling. And according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the estimated lost of revenues from technical smuggling ranges from Php 89 billion to Php 200 billion a year, which is enough amount to wipe out a big chunk of the nation’s budget deficit to finance the building of thousands of schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, and low-cost housings for the poor families and other necessary infrastructures for the attainment of economic and national development.
Technical smuggling are highlighted and given emphasis because the import documents of cargoes tainted with fraud have passed through the regular process in the Bureau of Customs and some empirical data tend to back up the allegations. And most of these transactions could have not been made possible without the direct involvement and participation of the importer, broker and even some customs officials and personnel. Thus, technical smuggling is a form of corruption since it is a dysfunctional act that negates the accomplishment of bureaucrats constitutional mandate of promoting public interest through the misuse of public office for personal gains.
To highlights the importance of combating corruption in the national agenda, President Benigno Aquino III has placed bigger emphasis on his campaign battlecry under his new administration with a slogan, “Kung Walang Corrupt, Walang Mahirap,” and has even created a Truth Commission to investigate the anomalies committed by the previous administration of President Gloria Arroyo.
To be sure, the problem of corruption is an old one and not peculiar to the Bureau of Customs alone, even in other government agencies which are considered as bulwark of integrity and honesty such as the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman are even perceived by some Filipinos as also graft-laden agencies.
It should be pointed, however, that efficiency and effectiveness of running the affairs of the government is the universal objective of the civil servants. And we could not attain the level of national development the government so desires if corruption exists and so prevalent in running the affairs of the bureaucracy. As a result, underdevelopment will naturally take place when the resources of the state are not fully used towards their socio-economic potentials and there will be a lop-sided development progression brought about by corruption.
According to Prof. Young Kim in his book entitled, New Korean Public Administration and Corruption Studies, bureaucratic corruption is a significant factor in underdevelopment because it undermines the administrative productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. And it has become a major inhibition and services obstacle against all efforts to increase social discipline and national development. Under this context, this paper will focus on the incidence of corruption through technical smuggling as detected by the X-ray Inspection Project and would try to relate these empirical data to elaborate the effects of technical smuggling in national development.
Loci of Corruption in Technical Smuggling
The loci of corruption in technical smuggling can be attributed in two specific areas. First, the opportunities to commit corruption happen when the broker or importer writes on the declaration forms the pertinent facts about the import cargo for valuation of taxes and duties by the customs officer. In this process, the importer or broker is required to declare the cargo, in accordance with the customs laws, rules and regulations on import cargo. All these declared pertinent facts and information about the cargo, however, are subject to scrutiny and verification by the concerned customs official and personnel to find out their accuracy and veracity. In this process, technical smuggling happens when there is a collusion between the importer or broker and the customs officer to misrepresent the true pertinent data of the cargo for the purpose of defrauding the government of its rightful revenues. Second, corruption happens during the actual examination of the cargo itself when there is a deliberate efforts on the part of concerned custom officials and personnel not to declare the true items found during the actual inspection. This procedure is important because some pertinent and important facts about the cargo can only be checked through the opening of the cargo one by one, such as the quantity, make, brand, country of origin, packaging label, and others. Again, corruption exists when there is a collusion between the custom officer and the importer or broker to defraud the government of its rightful taxes and duties. Thus, technical smuggling occurs. Within these ambit of loci of corruption there are various forms of corruption which are not necessarily peculiar to one another.
Some Typical Cases of Technical Smuggling in the Bureau of Customs
Based on the earlier definition of technical smuggling, the following are some incidents of technical smuggling being detected and apprehended by the operatives of the X-Ray Inspection Project at the Port of Manila as reported in various tabloid newspapers in the Bureau of Customs:
- “SHABU” CHEMICALS AND PORNOGRAPHIC DVD SEIZED
A shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. TCNU 9722036, said to contain 455 Packages Raw Materials of Footwear, under Entry No. C-127856, with Bill of Lading No. TAMS8804, consigned DCSB Marketing, arrived at the Port of Manila on November 28, 2007, on board sea vessel “Franconia”, from Taiwan.
On December 6, 2007, the shipment was subjected to x-ray inspection as a result of data profiling and intelligence-gathering made by the Port of Manila X-ray Field Office, in coordination with other enforcement units of the Bureau of Customs.
Veteran X-ray Inspectors Rogelio Sio and John Turqueza scanned the shipment and found irregularities on the middle and innermost portions of container van which were not declared on the importation documents. The drum-like and crate-packed items whose images on the x-ray monitor appeared to be maliciously hidden among the declared items.
A Warrant of Seizure and Detention was issued against the entire shipment after it was found out during actual examination that the drum-like images contained toluene chemicals, which are precursor substance for making methamphetamine hydrochloride, more popularly known as shabu, and the crate-like object contained a machinery suspected to be a shabu-mixer by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency agents. Other significant undeclared items found were pornographic DVDs, airsoft gun metal springs and several boxes of used clothings.
- EXPLOSIVE CHEMICALS SEIZED
On March 31, 2009, a shipment of 1x20’ Container Van No. CLHU 9110870, from Korea, STC 3,985 packages of Home Appliances and Miscellaneous Items, covered by Import Entry No. C-28260, consigned to Korex Logistics International, Inc, was subjected to x-ray inspection by X-ray Inspector Gary Matibag after it was manually selected as a high risk shipment by the POM X-ray Field Office.
During image analysis on the inner portion of the container van, X-ray Inspector Gary Matibag detected the presence of hidden drum-like cargoes and, when it was subjected to a 100 percent physical examination, the suspected items were found to be sodium cyanide and several buckets of unknown chemicals. Sodium Cyanide is a known chemical being used for the manufacture of explosives.
The undeclared items were issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention by the District Collector of Customs, with Seizure Identification No. 2009-038.
- ABANDONED COMPUTER SHIPMENT SEIZED
On October 9, 2008, a shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. WHLU4157914, STC 26 Pallets of Ideacenter K210ASE705, UL CSA Power Cord, L195WA/TP/AP 4418-HCL, covered by B/L No. DMCQYAT2468631, was subjected to Alert Order No. A/OC /20081009-104 after its arrival at the Port of Manila, upon the initiative of the POM X-ray Field Office, for its derogatory information based on risk assessment of arriving shipments.
When the consignee of said shipment failed to file the necessary import documents within a one-month period as prescribed by law, it was issued a Decree of Abandonment by the District of Collector of Customs on November 21, 2008. In order to find out its true contents, which could had been the reason behind on why it was abandoned by its consignee, the shipment was subjected to x-ray inspection by X-ray Inspector Bernabe Cevallos, who noted a fully-assembled computer images on the x-ray monitor, contrary to what was declared on the bill of lading.
On the following day, customs examiners assigned at the Auction and Cargo Disposal Division examined the shipment and confirmed the x-ray findings that the shipment actually contained several units of Lenovo Computers, and nothing else.
- MISDECLARED MOTORCYCLES SEIZED
On January 17, 2008, a greenlane-classified shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. CLHU 8757693, said to contain 60 cartons Brand New Completely Knock-Down parts for Assembly of Motorcycle LX 150-6B (SBK 200), with Bill of Lading No. SNKOMNL 22061004, consigned to Victoria Motors Corporation, arrived at the Port of Manila from China.
On January 30, 2008, the said shipment was about to leave the Port’s Exit Gate when it was directed for x-ray inspection after the Port of Manila tagged it manually upon receiving reliable intelligence information that it contained misdeclared items. X-ray Inspector Gary Matibag scanned the shipment and detected the presence of several units of completely-built motorcycles and other undeclared items. The entire shipment was issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention.
- DRUMS OF UNDECLARED CHEMICALS SEIZED
With the directive of the XIP Head, Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang, to intensify the anti-smuggling campaign to help the bureau checks its revenue shortfall, another shipment of undeclared drums of chemicals were detected and seized by the POM Field Office on May 13, 2009 after a shipment of 1x40 Container Van No. CMAU 5047216, STC 82 packages Machine Accessories, covered by Entry No. 42997, consigned to Lawag General Merchandise, was scanned by X-ray Inspector Bernabe Cevallos, who observed drum-like images in the center portion of the container van which were conspicuously hidden among the declared items placed near the door of the container van.
The chemicals were referred to the Customs Task Force on Drugs for laboratory analysis.
- AIRSOFT GUNS SEIZED
On June 18, 2007, a shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. CCLU 6248207, said to contain 438 packages of toys, covered by Bill of Lading No. 8AWMNSNBAA050, filed under Formal Entry No. 63385, consigned to Katleeen Trading , arrrived at the Port of Manila on board sea vessel, OSG Argosy, from China.
After the broker filed the importation documents of the shipment, it was manually selected for x-ray inspection by the Port of Manila Field Office and subsequently subjected to x-ray inspection two days later, on June 20, 2007.
X-ray Inspectors Jun Pelayo and Benjie Cajucom, two well-trained POM X-ray Inspectors, observed the presence of gun-like images on the inner portions of the container van that were cleverly hidden together with the declared items.
The seizure of the shipment was made possible with issuance of an alert order after the conduct of physical examination by the concerned customs examiner for violation of Sec. 101 of the TCCP, as amended, and CMC 413-95.
- EXPORT SHIPMENT SEIZED
Pursuant to the memorandum of then Commissioner Napoleon Morales dated 11 July 2008, directing the X-ray Inspection Project to conduct x-ray inspection of all containerized export shipments declared as scrap metals to prevent “ghost” and illegal exportation, the POM X-ray Field Office scanned a shipment of 2x20’ Container Van Nos. ECMU2226648 and ECMU2156303, STC Scrap Integrated Circuits, consigned to Hung Tat Electronics Co., Ltd in Hongkong and exported by H.A.S. Electronics Supply in Laguna on January 26, 2009.
During x-ray image analysis conducted by X-ray Inspector Andre Umali, it was found out that the shipment contains stone-like images and not scrap items, thus, a 100 percent actual examination was performed by the assigned customs examiner who confirmed later on that the shipment contains mineral ores. As a result, a Warrant of Seizure and Detention had been issued against the entire shipment by the District Collector of Customs. It was the first seizure ever by the POM X-ray Field Office on export shipment.
- “SHABU” EQUIPMENT SEIZED
With a high spirit from its series of seizure of “shabu” chemicals in the past, the POM X-ray Field Office scored anew in its anti-smuggling campaign when several laboratory equipment suspected for use in the making of shabu were seized by the operatives of the Enforcement and Security Service after a shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. EMCU 9676518, STC 32 pallets of Used Food Machineries and Accessories, covered by Entry No. C-95735, and consigned to Nissan-Seiko Corporation, was scanned and showed suspicious images on the x-ray image processing monitor.
The shipment was manually tagged for x-ray inspection as a result of profiling and risk analysis of import shipments at the Port of Manila and was eventually x-rayed by X-ray Inspector Cayetano Pimentel on September 9, 2008.
- USED CARS SEIZED
On July 30, 2010, a shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. WHLU 5321386, said to contain 308 Packages E-Goods, arrived at the Port of Manila from Japan.
The shipment was manually selected for x-ray inspection and was eventually x-rayed on August 4, 2010 by X-ray Inspector Bernabe Cevallos, who observed the presence of three cars which were obviously concealed by the declared cargoes placed near the door of container van.
During a 100 percent physical examination, it was found out that the suspected items were one unit used Volvo Station Wagon, one unit used Daihatsu MIRA and one unit used Mitsubishi ML7 and assorted used household equipment. As a result of x-ray findings, the entire shipment was issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention by the District Collector of Customs. The apprehension was recorded as the first seizure at the Port of Manila X-ray Field Office involving smuggled cars.
- REGULATED “BONSAI” PLANTS SEIZED
Pursuant to the verbal directive of XIP Head, Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang, to conduct intensified x-ray inspection on suspected shipments of agricultural products following the complaints raised by the local agricultural producers, the POM Field Office randomly selected for x-ray inspection a shipment of 1x40’ Container Van No. FCIU 8278195, STC 600 cartons of Porcelain and Clay Pots, covered by Entry No. C-110625, under Bill of Lading No. P3MSC023IT, consigned to Lepar Trading International, which arrived at the Port of Manila from Hongkong on October 28, 2008.
Two days thereafter, Asst. Field Officer Roberto Quintana x-rayed the shipment and found some irregular images on the x-ray monitor, depicting configurations of ornamental plants which were not declared on the importation document. When the shipment was subjected to 100% actual examination, hundreds of pieces of “bonsai” plants and other agricultural products, which are highly dutiable and regulated items, were discovered and maliciously hidden at the center and back portions of the container van. Thus, a Warrant of Seizure and Detention had been issued against the entire shipment for violation of PD 1433 and Sec. 2503, in relation to Sec 2530, of the TCCP, as amended.
Some Apprehended Shipments Tainted With Fraud With Their Estimated Dutiable Value
| SEIZED GOODS/ITEMS | DECLARED AS | CONSIGNEE | ESTIMATED VALUE |
| 2 units Completely Built Motorcycles | PERSONAL EFFECTS | Victorino C. Guilles, Jr. Customs Brokerage | 3,000,000.00 |
| Polyethylene Laminated Tube | PACKAGING MACHINE PARTS & VACUUM BAGS | Loopex Packaging Product Inc. | 1,092,000.00 |
| Aircon Condense | ALUMINUM SHEETS IN COILS | Tricia Royale Marketing | 778,000.00 |
| Mineral Ores | SCRAP INTEGRATED CIRCUITS | Hung Tat Electronics Co. Ltd. | 65,000.00 |
| Raw materials for Shoe manufacturing, Canvas, Nylon, Drums of Flammable Chemicals | FABRICS (For PEZA) | SS Ventures Int’l. | 636,000.00 |
| Used Tires | USED DIESEL EMGINES W/ TRANSMISSION & USED VARIOUS TRUCK REPLACEMENT PARTS | Alliance Auto & Truck Rebuilder | 560,000.00 |
| Sodium Cyanide, Fire Extinguisher, Plastic Buckets of unknown chemicals | HOME APPLIANCES & MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS | Korex Logistics Int’l. Inc. | 2,951,000.00 |
| Household goods, construction materials & various articles | BEAN SPROUTS | Philkosa Sea and Air Freight Services | 500,000.00 |
| 4 Plastic Bags of Powder Paint | RAW MATERIALS FOR LIGHT BULB MANUFACTURING | Global Lightings Philippines Inc. | 5,000.00 |
| 1 Unit Safety Vault | FABRICS | Everflow Apparel Philippines Industrial Co. | 24,000.00 |
| Used Tires and Tiles | ASSORTED ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES | Melbeth Enterprises | 898,000.00 |
| 15 drums of Unknown Chemicals | RESINS (For PEZA) | Universal Harvester, Inc. | 150,000.00 |
| Assorted ready-to-wear Vests of different sizes | 1,386 CTNS. OF RAYON 44” PRINT (CUTTING WASTES) REMNANTS | Fil-Cel Trading | 1,400,000.00 |
| 1x40 drums of DOP & unknown Chemical | PVC SCRAPS | S & S Industries | 3,303,000.00 |
| 74 drums Unknown Chemicals | MACHINE ACCESSORIES | Lawag Gen. Mdse. | 1,000,000.00 |
| 8 drums of ZIC Supervis | PLASTIC INJECTION MOLDING | Cronics, Inc. | 50,000.00 |
| Personal effects | HOUSELHOLD WARES | Okta Trading | 1,000,000.00 |
| Asstd. Foodstuff (candies) | TOYS (NON-BATTERY OPERATED) | Solar Sea Marketing | 1,094,087.00 |
| Massager, Mahjong sets & tables | LAMP ACCESSORIES (Funeral Use) | Coolidge Trading Corp. | 500,000.00 |
| 24 drums PF DOP (Diethelhexyl Phthalate) | PVC SCRAPS | Asia Global Trading | 100,000.00 |
| Reflective Sheetings & Screw fro Scaffoldings | GALVANIZED STEEL PLATES | Mercer Trading | 500,000.00 |
| Resins, Paints, Wires etc. | RELAY PARTS | 3-way Electrical Supply | 500,000.00 |
| Korean Commodities (Kimchi) | KOREAN WINES | Hanul Worldwide Inc. | 25,000.00 |
| 1 unit of Used Aircon Stand Type Compressor & Rice wine | FABRICS AND ACCESSORIES | DO1 GMA International Corporation | 26,500.00 |
| 35 pieces Plastic Drums of Unknown Chemicals & various items | FABRICS AND ACCESSORIES | Dong Seung Incorporated | 200,662.00 |
| 12 DRUMS OF DICHLOROMETHANE, 6 PALLETS PACKING PAPERS, 1 PRESS SENSORE MACHINE | Steel Sheet | Tae Sung Co. Ltd | 361,320.00 |
| 2 BOXES MELON SEEDS, NOODLES, 2 PAKGS. STEAM VALVE, 1 PLASTIC TUBE WITH 5 PCS. RIBBER FITTINGS | Assorted Dyestuff | Vickem Philippines Corporation | 58,572.00 |
| 2 CTNS. SPONGY WHEEL, 50 PCS. ROCK CENTER TOOL BLADE, 8 PCS. SANDER, 1 CTN. BUFFING SANDER | Stone Products | Golden Dew Enterprise | 78,750.00 |
| Car Mat, Carpet, PVC Matting | TEXTILES (NON-WOVEN) | Maranello Marketing | 1,726,101.35 |
| 45 sacks of Used Comforter & 15 cartons of Shoe Polish | KITCHEN WARES | Multi-Products Trading, Co. | 319,740.00 |
| One (1) unit New CKD Kawasaki Motorcycle 250F; One (1) unit Used Motorcycle Engine & Parts (unknown Brand); One (1) unit Used Honda Motorcycle Engine with Tires & assorted Parts; One (1) unit Used CKD Honda Motorcycle 250 with Tires & assorted parts (slightly used), etc. | PERSONAL EFFECTS | Archon Cargo Express | 195,000.00 |
| 90 sacks (@25 kgs./sack) of Daluoshan | TABLE WARES | Quick Flo Trading | 155,250.00 |
| 11 packages Stationery Equipment, Tools & Materials | 3 DRUMS CELANSING COMPOUND @200 LITERS/DRUM & 18 PARTS PAINT ADDITIVES | LAWAG GENERAL MERCHANDISE | 50,400.00 |
| 17 PACKAGES OF ELEVATOR FITTINGS | Elevator Part | Phil. Asia Pacific Corp. | 1,380,000.00 |
| 5 units of Used CKD Motorcycles & accessories (assorted brands), 1 barrel for 22 L.R. Winchester Rifle, Model 69 A | PERSONAL EFFECTS | World International Cargo Transfer | 747,000.00 |
| Finish Products Ganoderma products | GANODERMA PRODUCTS | Gano I-Touch Phils, Inc | 880,691.08 |
| One (1) unit Fork Lift | Used REPLACEMENT PARTS | Taywa Commercial | 607,372.04 |
| Two (2) units Motor vehicle, One (1) unit Grass Mower, etc. | 308 PKGS. OF USED E-GOODS | Pintel Trading | 210,325.39 |
| Regulated Playing Cards | NOTEBOOKS, BAGS, ETC, | Sound Wave Trading | 482,221.96 |
| Three (3) drums of Chlorothalonil, 34 boxes of Thiophanate Methyl, 4 boxes containing empty Plastic bags & some boxes of empty bottles | CHLOROTHALONIL | Berris Agricultural | 1,445,872.60 |
| One (1) unit of Molding Machine & accessories | TARPAULINES & CLEANSING TISSUE | Unique Int’l Export, Co. (Monalisa Tan) | 1,095,454.20 |
The Implication of Technical Smuggling in the National Development
The effects of technical smuggling in the country cannot be understated. Although the empirical data presented are just few and quite negligible in terms of magnitude in the overall picture of the problem, yet, they tend to show that some incidence of technical smuggling are indeed happening in the Bureau of Customs which can have a profound effects in the national economy in one way or another. According to the Federation of Philippine Industries, technical smuggling has drove away thousands of our farmers away from their farms, deprived shoe makers in Marikina and garment factory workers of their livelihood because they could not sell anymore their products in the local market because it is already swamped with cheap and smuggled products from China and other neighboring countries. Other local industries are also forced to downsize or closed down their operations because of uncompetitive prices of imported products in the market. This worst condition in the local market has already reached an alarming proportion that would eventually have a dired consequences in the national economic development like rising unemployment, deteriorating foreign exchange rate of the Philippine peso, huge budget deficit, and a host of many other problems. All these things lead to government’s failure to fund and deliver the basic services to the Filipino people. This deplorable corrupt practice in trade of technical smuggling needs to be stopped for us to attain the level of national development that we want to aspire for.
| Rank | Country/ Territory | CPI 2009 Score | Surveys Used | Confidence Range |
| 130 | Libya | 2.5 | 6 | 2.2 - 2.8 |
| 130 | Maldives | 2.5 | 4 | 1.8 - 3.2 |
| 130 | Mauritania | 2.5 | 4 | 2.0 - 3.2 |
| 130 | Mozambique | 2.5 | 7 | 2.3 - 2.8 |
| 130 | Nicaragua | 2.5 | 6 | 2.3 - 2.7 |
| 130 | Nigeria | 2.5 | 7 | 2.2 - 2.7 |
| 130 | Uganda | 2.5 | 7 | 2.1 - 2.8 |
| 139 | Bangladesh | 2.4 | 7 | 2.0 - 2.8 |
| 139 | Belarus | 2.4 | 4 | 2.0 - 2.8 |
| 139 | Pakistan | 2.4 | 7 | 2.1 - 2.7 |
| 139 | Philippines | 2.4 | 9 | 2.1 - 2.7 |
| 143 | Azerbaijan | 2.3 | 7 | 2.0 - 2.6 |
The Philippine overall ranking in the Integrity Indicators Score Card on Corruption is number 139. It is one of the countries with a perceived prevalence of corruption in the government.
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