MANILA -- In its campaign against illegal smuggling, the Bureau of Customs (BOC), through the X-ray Inspection Project (XIP), was able to scan a total of 66,379 shipments containing various agricultural products in 2021.

Through the intensive profiling of incoming cargoes in the Philippines, the XIP conducted further verification of at least 9,706 scanned shipments which yielded suspicious images. Of these, 50 Warrants of Seizure and Detention (WSD) were issued and Php29,239,807.07 additional duties and taxes were successfully collected by the BOC.

The seized shipments with issued WSD were found to contain misdelcared and undeclared goods which are in violation of the Department of Agriculture Administrative Order (DA AO) No. 18 series of 2000 and Section 1113 (f) of the Republic Act No. 10863, also known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

Under the leadership of Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, the BOC firmly denounces fraudulent importations of agricultural products, and consistently implements initiatives to intensify its border protection measures in all its ports nationwide to protect the country’s local farm producers and assure the safety of consumers. (BOC)