Manila: The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Wednesday impounded 21 containers of smuggled frozen mackerel from China worth PHP178.5 million at the Manila International Container Port (MICP). In a news release, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the MICP's Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) recommended the issuance of a Pre-Lodgement Control Order on the shipment on Oct. 16, after the agency received derogatory information that it contains misclassified, misdeclared, and undeclared goods. The CIIS estimated the value of each container of frozen mackerel to be PHP8.5 million, totaling PHP178.5 million. CIIS director Verne Enciso said the 21 containers of frozen mackerel arrived at the MICP in late September and remained unclaimed by the consignee. About the same time, the CIIS contacted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to inquire about the current requirements for mackerel importation and whether the consignee had been issued a Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Import Cle arance (SPSIC). Divine Ramos of the BFAR's Fisheries Certification Section confirmed that the importer of the shipment Pacific Sealand Foods Corp. has no application for mackerel from Aug. 30 to Sept. 16, 2024." Further applications had also been "rejected" after a memorandum from the Department of Agriculture (DA) suspending the issuance of SPSICs for the importation of round scad, mackerel, and bonito. "We are in the process of gathering information on the consignee of these shipments and filing appropriate cases. We also want to emphasize the importance of proper coordination among various government agencies that contributed to the seizure of these goods,' Enciso said. In a letter dated Oct. 25, Customs Deputy Commissioner for the Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy reiterated to MICP District Collector Rizalino Torralba the CIIS' recommendation to issue a warrant of seizure and detention for the shipments. "This request was based on information indicating that the shipments were not covered by any SPS Imp ort Clearance from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources," he said. The consignee may face charges of violating Sections 117 and 1113 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) in relation to DA Memorandum Order No. 14, series of 2024, and other existing DA regulations. Smuggled goods to be donated Meanwhile, the agriculture department is mulling to donate the smuggled fish. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., however, said that the intercepted fish should be inspected first if they are safe to eat, considering that they entered the country without a phytosanitary permit. 'Sa ngayon, hindi pa tayo sigurado kung food-safe ito dahil pumasok nga ito without phytosanitary permit na dapat ini-issue ng mga kasama natin sa BFAR. Wala itong shipments na ito (Right now, we are not sure if it's food-safe because it entered without a phytosanitary permit that should be issued by our colleagues at BFAR. These shipments don't have this),' Laurel said. 'So ang immediate na gagawin ng Burea u of Fisheries natin ay i-check ngayon itong lahat ng mga laman sa sampling to see kung fit for human consumption siya o hindi (So the immediate action that our Bureau of Fisheries will do is to check all of these fish in the sampling to see if they are fit for human consumption or not).' Once confirmed safe, they will coordinate with the Office of the President for possible distribution of the confiscated fish to the victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon. Source: Philippines News Agency