THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) has confiscated a total of P72 billion worth of smuggled goods since last January, according to Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio.
This month alone, the BOC seized P3.09 billion worth of smuggled goods, including P2.3 billion in various commodities, P22.3 million worth of cigarettes, and a vessel carrying smuggled petroleum estimated at P402 million.
Additionally, some P42.16 million worth of illegal drugs were intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, plus P323 million smuggled rice seized at various ports across the country.
Rubio commended his men for “a job well done.”
Rubio made the citation during the BOC’s Inter-Agency Intelligence Summit in Batangas over the weekend, bringing together intelligence units from 67 government agencies from three regions – Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol – to enhance cooperation in the fight against smuggling and other illegal activities.
The summit had the theme “Championing Border Security and Protection through Streamlined Intelligence Operations and Strengthened Inter-Agency Collaboration,” highlighting the bureau’s commitment to fortifying the nation’s defense against illicit trade.
In a speech, Rubio emphasized the importance of the bureau’s intelligence efforts in protecting the country’s borders.
“In the face of increasingly complex threats, we must stand as a united front. With each of us having diverse expertise in the field of intelligence, we are afforded the opportunity to achieve far more collectively than any agency could accomplish alone,” he said.
Noting that the achievements recorded so far this year are “a record-breaking feat in the history of the BOC,” Rubio expressed confidence that more accomplishments will come in the coming years.
“This proves that our combined efforts are not only effective, but essential in combating smuggling and other illicit activities,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Juvymax Uy said the summit created a forum where key government agencies can come together and identify their strengths and weaknesses.
“The accumulation of knowledge and experience in intelligence operations through activities like this Intelligence Summit would enable us all to achieve an excellent resolution for dealing with trade facilitation, border protection and all other customs cooperation programs,” he said.
“May we maintain the partnership we have established and further strengthen the collaboration as may be necessitated by the circumstances,” Uy added.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who attended the event, extended his gratitude for the BOC’s role in ensuring Philippine communities remain safe.
He described intelligence as a “vanguard of law enforcement” because reliable information meant that there would be no need to mobilize armed groups to stop the activities.
“And from a finance and budgetary point of view, it is an economical form of warfare, because good intelligence saves lives, disarms threats, defuses tensions, and stops conflicts and crimes from happening,” Recto said.
The Finance chief also drew attention to the role of the BOC’s intelligence division in ensuring that traditional and modern methods are used in curbing smuggling activities.
“In the case of smuggling of goods, it is a crime that victimizes millions – from farmers who drown from the flood of imported agricultural products, to entrepreneurs whose businesses are choked by unfair trade,” he said.
“Outwitting them (smugglers) requires agility in action, and openness to new ideas and techniques,” Recto added.
