By BETHEENA KAE UNITE
Customs agents intercepted yesterday a shipment of 100,000 sacks of Thai rice worth P250 million at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).
The sacks of rice were discovered inside 200 container vans, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said as the bureau presented to the media the seized rice early yesterday.
Upon verification, it was discovered that the rice shipment came from Vietnam and was consigned to Sta. Rosa Farm Products Corporation, which is now under investigation.
The sacks of rice, Lapeña said, did not have import papers as well as permit from the National Food Authority (NFA).
The rice will undergo auction within five to 10 days, Lapeña added. The legal process of the seizure will be fast tracked because those are perishable goods.
Further, the bureau will coordinate with the NF for a possible government-to-government agreement and donate to them the rice instead of auctioning it. Shortage of rice in the country may also prompt the bureau to donate the rice to the NFA.
The shipment is the largest haul of smuggled rice under the leadership of Lapeña.
