Customs to auction seized smuggled rice worth P 300M

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The Bureau of Customs-Manila International Container Port (BOC-MICP) will sell 200,193 sacks of rice through a public auction onThursday, September 11, 2014. The auction is expected to generate proceeds of P299.69-Million and will help decongest the Manila International Container Terminal, the country’s largest in terms of volume and customs revenues.

Elmir Dela Cruz, BOC-MICP District Collector, said that the rice to be auctioned—consisting of 180 container vans of glutinous rice and 205 container vans of white rice—

arrived in the country from October to November 2013 without the required import permits from the National Food Authority. 285 of these were imported by Bold Bidder Marketing, 70 by Jade Bros. Farm and Livestock, and 30 by the San Carlos Multi Purpose Cooperative.

The rice to be auctioned-off is divided into nine (9) lots. These are:

• 40 x 20 ft. containers of glutinous rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 20,795 sacks and offered at a floor price of P35.98-Million;

• 40 x 20 ft. containers of glutinous rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 20,800 sacks and offered at a floor price of P35.99-Million;

• 40 x 20 ft. containers of glutinous rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 20,800 sacks and offered at a floor price of P35.99-Million;

• 30 x 20 ft. containers of glutinous rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 15,600 sacks and offered at a floor price of P26.99-Million;

• 30 x 20 ft. containers of glutinous rice seized from San Carlos Multi Purpose Cooperative, more or less 15,598 sacks and offered at a floor price of P26.99-Million;

• 60 x 20 ft. containers of white rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 31,200 sacks and offered at a floor price of P40.31-Million;

• 60 x 20 ft. containers of white rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 31,200 sacks and offered at a floor price of P40.31-Million;

• 15 x 20 ft. containers of white rice seized from Bold Bidder Marketing, more or less 7,800 sacks and offered at a floor price of P10.07-Million; and

• 70 x 20 ft. containers of white rice seized from Jade Bros. Farm and Livestock, Inc., more or less 36,400 sacks and offered at a floor price of P47.03-Million.

Dela Cruz added that each sack of glutinous rice was pegged at a floor price of about P1,730 per bag; while white rice was at P1,292 per bag. However, as the rice to be auctioned is still subject of on-going cases, proceeds from the auction will be held in trust by the Bureau of Customs.

“We are pushing through with the auction to preserve the value of the rice and to prevent damage or spoilage. It’s all in accordance with the law,” said Dela Cruz.

Rice imported without import permits are considered smuggled and are subject to seizure and forfeiture in favor of the government, which in turn may be sold through public auction.

The highest or winning bidder must make an on-the-spot payment in cash or manager’s check of at least 50% of the bid price upon announcement of the winning bid as duly certified to by the Auction Committee and the Commission on Audit representative, with the remaining balance of 50% to be paid on the next business day.

The seized goods shall be available for viewing and pre-bid conference one day before the auction on Wednesday, September 10, 2014.