The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is still investigating if the imported rice found in the four warehouses in Bulacan that were temporarily closed went through the proper ports, its spokesperson said Sunday.

In an interview with dzBB, Customs spokesperson Vincent Maronilla said they are investigating the possibility of the importers doing “backdoor” operations.

“That’s part of our backtracking investigation. We have experienced handling situations in outright smuggling. That means they don’t pass the products through our ports but they enter them through our other seas. That’s how sophisticated our smuggling activities are now,” Maronilla said.

“Now, if it is proven that it has passed through our ports and they used schemes, you can expect that we will investigate this and punish whoever is accountable,” he added.

"It's possible that it's a backdoor operation. We are not ruling out the possibility that it may have gone through our ports but we want to check if it is a backdoor operation," he said.

The BOC last week raided four warehouses in Bulacan and found P519 million worth of imported rice and unhusked rice.

Maronilla said that based on the labels of the packaging, the sacks of rice were from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

He said that once the sacks of rice in the Bulacan warehouses are proven to be smuggled, they can be donated to Kadiwa stores.

“That is one of the options provided for in the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. We can donate to Kadiwa stores to help lower the high rice prices,” Maronilla said.

He added they are working with the Department of Agriculture on their plan to inspect warehouses in other areas of the country. Jaspearl Tan/DMS