DA looking into possible criminal liabilities on imported rice sitting in ports of Manila
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking into possible criminal liabilities on the imported rice which have been sitting in the ports of Manila for months.
"That is part of our investigation. For now, we haven't seen it yet, but our concern right now is food safety, " Assistant Agriculture Secretary Arnel De Mesa, the DA spokesman said. when asked if there are criminal acts committed that cause imported rice to stay in the ports for months.
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Santiago said one of the total of 888 containers loaded with imported rice was sitting in Manila ports for 275 days of nine months. Another one has been there for 161 days or over five months while others were there for 26 days, eight days, two days, he added.
De Mesa said the 888 container vans were loaded with around 23 million kilos or 23,000 metric tons of imported rice. He noted that it is about .75 percent of the total rice that was imported in the country so far.
Santiago said around 300 containers were pulled out of the Manila ports over the weekend and noted that all the consignees were given a chance to pull out all of the overstaying containers until the end of this month.
"We promise to the Department of Agriculture that by October 1, we will report to the Department of Agriculture if there are containers loaded with imported rice that are still sitting there for over 30 days and then we will go through the process and endorse that to the Bureau of Customs for appropriate action," he said.
"Under the Customs’ Modernization Tariff Act, any cargo that stays in the port or terminal for over 30 days after clearance by the Bureau of Customs can be declared abandoned by the Bureau of Customs and to be disposed of accordingly," he added.
Santiago also noted that the PPA is coordinating with the Department of Agriculture to intensify monitoring of shipments of prime commodities aside from rice to avoid overstaying of cargoes in ports and terminals even for other agricultural products.
"We agreed to conduct an intensified monitoring not just for rice but also for other prime commodities like pork meats, chicken, onions. So that we can also monitor if the overstaying of shipments in the ports is also happening in other commodities," he said. Robina Asido/DMS
