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Palace-connected lady locator violating SBMA import rules

By Conrado Ching

01/13/2009

A group of small-scale resin importers yesterday complained that they have been edged out of business by a female locator at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), who had cornered the importation of resins reportedly by dropping the name of a presidential relative.

The group said most of the locator’s regular resin shipments of 3,000 40-foot container vans a week are diverted to the local market instead of being shipped directly to the SBMA as required under the transshipment scheme.

“This is plain and simple smuggling,” said the group whose members have asked Bureau of Customs (BoC) authorities to look into the alleged illegal operations of the Palace-connected importer because small players are losing hundreds of millions of pesos in revenues.

The SBMA is supposed to issue this lady locator import permits for her resin importations only on condition that these be transshipped to the SBMA where the raw materials are to be converted into finished products for re-export.

Another condition is that shipments transshipped to the special economic zones are only to be disposed of within the zones, which is why they are tax-free. Resins have a duty of 12 percent or more, depending on their quality.

The group said it would be easy to determine by conducting an inventory how many resin shipments are transshipped to the SBMA. “Definitely, the SBMA has records of shipments of resins transshipped to them,” the group added.

Some Customs officials are aware of the illegal operations of the said female importer, but they refused to talk to reporters about the diversion of the resin shipments for fear of “reprisals.”

As a ranking BoC official asked, “How can you fight City Hall?”

Upon reaching the Manila International Container Port at the North Harbor, the resins are supposed to be shipped directly to the SBMA under the transshipment scheme, but the bulk of it is diverted to the local market.

The group also said most of its members are forced to buy resins from the black market, which ironically is supplied through the diversion of the resin shipments to the local market.