NADISKUBRE ng Bureau of Customs (BOC) ang tinatayang P30 milyong halaga ng expired na karne at iba pang frozen goods sa isinagawang inspeksyon sa isang warehouse sa Caloocan City noong Agosto 1, 2023.

Ang inspeksyon ay isinagawa ng mga ahente ng bureau, at mga kinatawan mula sa Department of Agriculture (DA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), at National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).

Kaugnay nito, inihayag ni Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio na ang ahensiya ay nangako sa pagprotekta sa mga hangganan ng bansa bilang pagsulong sa mga direktiba ni President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.

“Our agents work tirelessly to protect our borders and all local industries, including livestock, poultry, and meat. Not only is the local distribution of expired/spoiled meat detrimental to the health of our citizens, it also endangers our local livestock because of the possible entry of pathogenic diseases,” ani Rubio.

Ibinahagi naman ni Intelligence Group Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy, na ang inspeksyon sa warehouse ay nagbunga ng pagkakakum­piska sa P30 milyong halaga ng spoiled frozen meat at iba pang mga produkto tulad ng ice cream, meatballs, at maraming iba pa.

“Our agriculture industries will only remain vibrant if we do our mandate of intercepting possible entry and/or local distribution of disease-bearing and/or expired/spoiled frozen meat and animal by-products, and pro-actively protecting both the consumers and our industries. Thankfully, our represen­tatives from the BOC itself, the DA and NMIS have extensive training and experience in agricultural inspection as country’s frontliners in ensuring economic resilience,” dagdag niya.

Sinabi ng mga kinatawan mula sa DA at NMIS, ayon sa kanilang initial evaluation, ang nasabing meat products ay hindi na maaaring gamitin o kainin ng tao.

Ipinaliwanag naman ni Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Director Verne Enciso, ang pamamaraan para sa profiling, case build-up and prosecution ay kasunod na isasagawa laban sa mga nasasangkot.

“Protecting our consumers remains a priority of the bureau. We can ensure to put a stoppage to these nefarious activities by apprehending individuals and groups through well planned and coordinated inter-agency operations. Along with this, we must also enhance our information-sharing capabilities with key agencies to detect and deter not only the entry of illegally imported agricultural pro­ducts, but also the local distribution of spoiled/expired goods unfit for human consumption, banggit pa niya. Habang isinasagawa ang imbestigasyon, ang BOC ay muling nagpahayag ng kanilang matatag na pangako hinggil sa pag-iingat ng publiko, kalusu­gan at pinahusay na border control at security measures para labanan ang smuggling na nakalinya sa direktiba ni President Marcos.

(JOEL O. AMONGO)