Dominguez orders release of seized rice, other foodstuff to DSWD

September 14, 2018

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to immediately release the confiscated smuggled rice and other food items to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to augment ongoing government preparations for the possible onslaught of typhoon “Ompong” in Northern Luzon and other areas this week.

“Please release all seized rice and foodstuff in your possession to the DSWD for possible disaster relief,” Dominguez told BOC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña.

Dominguez’s directive was in response to President Duterte’s order to all government agencies to ensure the highest level of readiness for the typhoon.

According to the Finance chief, “government-to-government transfers in emergency situations can be legally fast-tracked” as in the case of the BOC release of the seized food stocks to the DSWD for disaster relief.

Under Chapter 10, Section 1141 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), goods under BOC custody that are up for disposal “may be donated to another government agency or declared for official use by the Bureau, after approval of the Secretary of Finance, or sold at a public auction within 30 days after a 10-day notice posted at a public place at the port where the goods are located and published electronically or in a newspaper of general circulation.”

Goods suitable for shelter, food items, clothing materials and medicines “may be donated to the DSWD,” the CMTA states.

Dominguez was present during a command conference led by the President Thursday afternoon at Camp Aguinaldo to discuss ongoing preparations for the possible disastrous impact of “Ompong,” which could possibly reach supertyphoon status.

Lapeña reported during a recent Department of Finance (DOF) Executive Committee (Execom) meeting that the BOC seized in July some 100 containers with 50,000 sacks of rice worth P125 million at the Manila International Container Port (MICP). DMS