Smuggling raps filed vs Batangas rice importer

Bureau of Customs. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Thursday filed smuggling charges against a rice importer for allegedly bringing in P648-million worth of rice from Thailand and Vietnam without the necessary permits.

Named respondent in the charges filed with the Department of Justice was Marvin L. Mendoza, owner of the Lipa City, Batangas-based Silent Royalty Marketing, which imported 16 million kilograms of rice between September and November last year via the Manila and Cebu ports.

Silent Royalty Marketing’s rice shipments lacked import permits from the National Food Authority (NFA), the BOC said.

Also included in the smuggling complaint were customs brokers Elbert V. Lusterio, Denise Kathryn Rosaroso, John Kevin W. Cisneros, Francis Rudolph Forneste and Kenneth Quial, the BOC said.

According to the BOC, Mendoza and the brokers all face 49 counts of violating Section 3601 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP) as well as 49 counts of infringing Section 29 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 4, as amended by PD No. 1485.

The respondents face a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment on top of a P50,000 fine for each count of violation of the TCCP.

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Customs files smuggling raps vs Batangas rice importer