Forklift Machines naispatan ng MICP X-ray Office

        NABIGO ANG tangkang palusot ng isang kompanya nang maispatan ng mga matang-agila ng mga tauhan ng Manila International Container Port (MICP) X-ray Field Office and dalawang unit ng forklift machines at iba pang makinarya noong Hulyo 29 na patotoo na talagang totohanan ang kontra ismagling na kampanya ni XIP Head Atty. Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang.

          Sa report ni Renato D. Palgan, MICP Field Officer and concurrent Luzon Area Supervisor, ang hindi idineklarang forklift machines at iba pang kagamitan ay kasama sa kargo ng 4x40’ container vans mula sa China (Import Entry No. 115863).

          Idineklara na pawang gamit sa bahay at iba pang hardware na nakapangalan sa Aldero Enterprises.

          Sa image analysis na ginawa nina XIP Inspectors Rielito A. Hernandez at Vincent Anthony G. Guzman natuklasan ang tangkang pagpapalusot sa dalawang forklift machines, kaya agad na inalerto ng Office of the Commissioner.

          Nag-isyu agad ang OCOM ng alert order laban sa kargamento ng Aldero na mahaharap sa kasong ismagling.

FORKLIFT MACHINES

INDUSTRIAL MACHINERIES

MICP X-ray detects another Motorcycle

           In another show of their expertise in conducting X-ray inspection of containerized cargo that is truly imbued in their works and profession, the MICP X-ray Field Office has recently detected another unit of undeclared motorcycle hidden inside several balikbayan boxes as a result of its intensified anti-smuggling campaign in compliance with the directive of XIP Head Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang. This is the second time that an apprehension was made involving motorcycle after all informal shipments were required to undergo 100 percent X-ray scanning.

           

            According to XIP Head Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang, the smuggled used motorcycle of Honda Super Sports 250cc, with Chassis No. MC-15-1015406, was part and parcel of a forty-footer shipment with Container Van. No. EISU 9136106, declared as personal effects and household goods, consigned to DXL International, which arrived at the MICP on June 25, 2011, from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After the filing of import entry by the customs broker, the said shipment was subjected to X-ray inspection on July 8 by X-ray Inspector Vincent Anthony G. Guzman. However, during X-ray image analysis of the said shipment it showed that there was undeclared item that looks like motorcycle which was maliciously hidden on the farthest portion of the container van that eventually led to the conduct of physical examination to ascertain the findings of X-ray image, and it was discovered during the spot-checking conducted by the assigned customs examiners of the Informal Entry Division that the suspected item was indeed a fully-assembled motorcycle. As a result, Warrant of Seizure and Detention was issued against the shipment by the MICP District Collector of Customs.

            Atty. Mangaoang added that the latest apprehension of motorcycle inside a consolidation shipment showed once again the effectiveness and efficiency in the conduct of X-ray inspection of containerized cargo using the state-of-the-art X-ray machine, as it was already proven in the XIP past apprehensions.

            The XIP Head likewise commended the officers and men of the MICP Field Office headed by Field Officer Renato D. Palgan for a job well done.

The prized catch of one unit of high-end motorcycle during the intensified anti-smuggling campaign waged by the officers and men of the MICP Field Office.

Field Inspection of Customs X-ray Facilities

         To ensure that X-ray scanning inspection of containerized cargoes are carried out in accordance with the Customs rules and regulations and in compliance with the Customs Radiation Safety Manual as well as to ensure that the directives of the XIP Head are fully implemented, MICP Field Officer and concurrent Luzon Area Supervisor Renato D. Palgan has conducted an ocular inspection last week on the container X-ray facilities at the Port of Subic in Zambales and the Port of Clark in Pampanga.

            The inspection was also made to check the on-going construction of X-ray facility at the said ports to ensure that radiation safety requirements and specifications are met.

            “ Considering that more than half of the total 30 container X-ray scanning machines of the Bureau of Customs are deployed at the major ports of entry in Luzon Area it is an imperative that these state-of-the-art equipment are fully utilized by our operatives with utmost efficiency and effectiveness in our anti-smuggling campaign”, Palgan said.

            The Port of Manila and the Manila International Container Port (MICP) have a combined 13 container X-ray machines while the Port of Subic and Port of Clark have 2 machines each respectively.

MICP Field Officer and concurrent Luzon Area Supervisor Renato D. Palgan (at left), with Port of Subic Field Officer Filemon Obejas (at right), inspects the on-going construction of the Port of Subic Satellite Office located at the New Container Terminal Road, ICTSI, inside the Subic Free Port in Olongapo City.

With XIP Inspector Paul Jorda, Luzon Area Supervisor Renato Palgan makes an on-site visit at one of the mobile container X-ray machines at the Port of Clark in Pampanga.

3 X-ray Personnel attend training in Malaysia

                   To update their expertise and knowledge on the latest issues and trends on radiation safety, three personnel of the X-ray Inspection Project of the Bureau of Customs, namely, Radiation Safety Officer Renato D. Palgan, Field Officer Pedro Irineo D. Gutierrez, and POM X-ray Inspector John Mar Morales, have attended recently an international seminar on radiation safety in Langkawi, Malaysia, last July 12-14, 2011.

            Entitled “6^th International Symposium on Radiation Safety and Detection Technology”, the international gathering was aimed to address the latest issues and concerns among radiation safety experts, professionals, and practitioners on wide array of topics such as radiation transport and shielding, radiation dosimetry, radiation detection and sensor technology, environmental radiation measurement and assessment, radiological risk management, radiation protection philosophy, and radiation education and training.

            According to Radiation Safety Officer Renato D. Palgan, “the topics and issues raised during the seminar were very timely considering the awareness, doubts, and skepticisms of the world on the hazardous effects of radiation as what happened to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant incident in Japan. The sharing of information among radiation safety experts and practitioners certainly gave us fresh and relevant knowledge on how we can still improve our radiation safety procedures in our own X-ray facilities and in handling of cargo found to contain regulated radioactive substance during our X-ray scanning operation. And we are indeed very grateful to the BOC Commissioner Angelito A. Alvarez and the XIP Head Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang for making radiation safety as one of their primary concerns in our X-ray facilities’ operational matters”.

It may be recalled that the Bureau of Customs has acquired thirty container X-ray machines from China as part of its modernization program in the conduct of examination of cargo. These machines were deployed in the major ports of entry in the country and all of them were duly licensed by the Department of Health (DOH) to be used and operated by the BOC after they had passed the stringent requirements and tests conducted by the DOH personnel as part of its regulatory function in the use of linear accelerator-sourced of radiation.

The BOC delegates to the Sixth International Symposium on Radiation Safety and Detection Technology held in Langkawi, Malaysia on July 12-14, 2011, pose for a picture of posterity in front of Awana Porto Malai Hotel. Left to right: POM X-ray Inspector John Mar Morales, POM Field Officer Pedro Irineo D. Gutierrez, and XIP Radiation Safety Officer Renato D. Palgan.

MICP X-ray seizes Motorcycles

          The MICP X-ray Field Office has recently detected two units of motorcycles of various brand and make hidden inside several balikbayan boxes as part of its intensified X-ray scanning operation on Informal Entry Shipments in connection with the recent developments which were publicized in the national newspapers that high-end motorcycles were smuggled into the country especially at the southern ports using allegedly balikbayan boxes.

           

            Based on the report submitted by MICP Field Officer and concurrent Luzon Area Supervisor Renato D. Palgan to XIP Head Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang, CEO VI, the smuggled used motorcycles were part and parcel of forty-footer shipment with Container Van. No. MSKU 1192217, declared as personal effects and household goods, consigned to Francisco Adriano et. al. / Ocean Star Freight Express, which arrived at MICP on June 2, 2011 from Hawaii. After the filing of import entry, the said shipment was subjected to X-ray inspection on June 9, 2011 by X-ray Inspector Felicito A. Acero in compliance with the memorandum of the Commissioner of Customs last May 30, 2011. However, during the image analysis of the shipment it showed that some suspicious undeclared items were maliciously hidden inside the inner portion of the container van that led to further verification of the shipment using the manual type of examination to ascertain the findings of X-ray printout copy. And it was discovered during the spot-checking conducted by the assigned customs examiners of the Informal Entry Division in the presence of the representatives from the customs brokerage firm and the XIP that the suspected items included one unit of fully assembled motorcycle and one unit disassembled (chop-chop) motorcycle placed inside several packages of balikbayan boxes, thus, the entire shipment was subjected to a hold order for a 100 percent physical examination.

            According to Renato D. Palgan, the latest apprehension of motorcycles inside a consolidation shipment shows the effectiveness and efficiency of non-intrusive inspection of container cargo using the X-ray scanner, unlike opening the container van and removing and inspecting all the almost 300 balikbayan boxes one by one and then returning them back to the container van which is both unrealistic and time-consuming considering that there are several hundreds consolidation shipments arriving daily from abroad.

MICP X-ray Facility to open soon

          With modern and fully furnished Satellite Office as well as an accessible spot-checking ramp exclusively for X-rayed shipments with suspicious items, located just beside its office, the new spacious MICP Container X-ray Facility which can accommodate six container X-ray machines that can be operational all at the same time will soon open anytime this month.

            The new X-ray facility, which is located inside the ICTSI Compound near the West Gate, covers approximately 8,000 square meters in total land area with parking space for container trucks that are subject for X-ray inspection.

            According to MICP Field Officer and Concurrent Luzon Area Supervisor, the new X-ray facility has been a result of the combine initiative and efforts of the leadership of the X-ray Inspection Project Head, Atty. Ma. Lourdes V. Mangaoang, CEO VI, and the MICP District Collector Engr. Ricardo R. Belmonte, CESO V, as well as through the painstaking negotiations made by the previous administration of MICP Field Officer Pedro Irineo D. Gutierrez and his men with the ICTSI Management.

“With the completion of many infrastructures needed for a decent container X-ray facility to operate which is comparable with any world-class container X-ray facility like the POM Field Office and after the approval for transfer from the Department of Health which is the regulatory agency of linear accelerator sources of radiation, then we can move to a much better facility anytime soon”, Palgan said.

The integrated X-ray facility that houses the container X-ray machines, a Satellite Office and a spot-checking ramp for truck-mounted examination of shipments with suspicious items, all conforms with the international best standards and practices in non-intrusive examination of cargoes. The MICP X-ray Field Office operates six days a week from Monday to Saturday and with business hours from 8:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the morning the following day. At present, it X-rayed an average of 200-250 container vans daily and it is expected to scan a bigger volume of containerized shipments with the opening of new container X-ray facility this month. And all its container X-ray machines are duly licensed with the Department of Health, which shows that they are all tested and safe for the use in cargo examination.

                                                                  

The New MICP Container X-ray Facility that can accommodate six container x-ray machines that can be operational all at the same time is now ready for full blast operation.     

The round the clock ongoing construction of Satellite Office, which is fully equipped with office furnishings and latest equipment is said to be the most modern x-ray satellite office not only in the country but also in the Asia Pacific Region.

The spot-checking ramp exclusive for x-rayed shipments located just beside the Satellite Office is accessible to the Customs examiners and brokers and can serve three containerized shipments for physical examination all at the same time.

BOCXOA awards winners of 3rd Chess Tourney

                    The 3^rd BOCXOA Chess Tournament has pushed its final checkmate move last June 7, 2011 in a simple yet memorable ceremony attended by the officers and members of the sponsoring organizations at the POM Field Office Lounge, with trophies and cash prizes were given to the top five winners, namely: Lorenzo Rupeta (champion), Raymond Linsangan (1^st runner-up), Loren Tabilog (2^nd runner-up), Joaquin Cagadas (3^rd runner-up) and Dante Frago (4^th runner-up).

            The tournament, which was jointly sponsored by the Bureau of Customs X-ray Operators Association, Inc., the Customs Gray Knights Brotherhood, Inc. and the BOC Chess Club, Inc., was held at the Social Room of the MICP Collection District during  the whole month of May using a Swiss type of competition participated in by more than thirty chess enthusiasts and players representating, Customs officials and employees, Customs brokers, and other port stakeholders.

           

            Meanwhile, the 1^st POM Field Office Tournament also concluded last May 11, 2011 with the following winners: Ernesto Loteyro (Champion, Dart), Randy Teniente (Champion, Table Tennis), Dante Padilla (Champion, Chess), and Mariecon Nolasco (Champion, Sing-along). The tournament in various fields of events was made to strengthen the camaraderie and to develop a healthy mind and body among the officers and personnel in the X-ray Inspection Project.

 The 1^st XIP POM Office Tournament Winners. The winners of the 1^st XIP-POM Office Tournament pose for a picture of posterity. Shown on the picture are MICP Field Officer and concurrent Luzon Area Supervisor Renato Palgan, Dante Padilla (Chess, Champion), Ernesto Loteyro (Dart Champion), Randy Teniente (Table Tennis Champion), Mariecon Nolasco (Sing-along Champion) and Asst. Chief-of-Staff Atty. Danilo Campos, Jr.

The 3^rd BOCXOA Chess Tourney Winners with the BOCXOA Prexy and the guest speaker of the ceremony. Standing left to right: BOCXOA President and BOXCOA Multi-Purpose Cooperative Chairman Renato Palgan, 1^st Runner-up Raymond Linsangan, Champion Lorenzo Rupeta, 4^th Runner-up Joaquin Cagadas, 5^th Runner-up Dante Frago, 2^nd Runner-up Loren Tabilog and Asst. Chief-of-Staff Atty. Danilo Campos, Jr.