Some P300-million worth of smuggled rice seized by the Philippine National Police and Bureau of Customs recently are now the subject of forfeiture proceedings in favor of the government.
According to PNP Chief, Director General Oscar D. Albayalde, the joint PNP-BOC team discovered 124,807 sacks of illegally imported rice in seven warehouses in Bulacan when it conducted random inspection in 801 warehouses containing 1,059,729 sacks of rice in different locations nationwide.
Among the 801 warehouses inspected, 168 were in Central Luzon, 137 in the Cagayan Valley Region, and 139 in the Ilocos Region.
The rest were scattered in different regions of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Two warehouses in Metro Manila were also inspected, 40 in the Cordillera and 59 in Western Mindanao and 75 in Bicol region.
All 801 warehouses inspected had an aggregate holding capacity of 7.2-million sacks but contained only 1,059,729 sacks during the inspection.
The PNP-initiated inspection of rice warehouses was conducted on instruction of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to crack down on hoarding and smuggling of rice that have resulted to an artificial shortage in rice supply.
Even as restrictions on rice importation had been relaxed, entities behind the smuggling may face revocation of their license.