MANILA, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon vowed to block the budget of the Bureau of Customs if the administrative order requiring pre-shipment inspection is not signed.

Drilon said this is covered by a proposed amendment to AO No. 243-A s. 2009, entitled “Creating a System for the Bulk Cargo Clearance Enhancement Program of the Bureau of Customs,” which supposedly remains pending with the Office of the President.

“We make of record the position of the minority leader. We will oppose the approval of the budget of the Bureau of Customs unless this administrative order is amended – which amendment has been pending for I don’t know how long – in order that we can immediately address the issues of these contraband drugs passing through our customs,” Drilon said during the Senate deliberations on Friday, October 6.

“I have no qualms in saying that I have not opposed the approval of any budget here in my 19 years. But this time I will put my foot down,” he added.

Drilon said the government had already implemented pre-inspection services “years ago” and said it could have prevented the smuggling of 604 kilos of shabu from China, a subject of a Senate blue ribbon investigation. (READ: TIMELINE: How P6.4-B worth of shabu was smuggled into PH from China)

“If there was no delay and the amended AO was signed, we may not have been confronted with this smuggling of 604 kilos of shabu because it could have been caught immediately at source or country of origin,” Drilon said.

At present, Drilon said the order covers only bulk cargo and non-containerized shipments, which according to Senate finance committee chair Loren Legarda includes fuel, oil, and steel.

Drilon added that the AO has been in effect for 7 years and must be expanded to include containerized cargoes, which are now being used to transport drugs and illegal goods.

This, he said, would help minimize entry of drugs and other illegal and substandard goods, increase government revenue, and thwart smuggling and corruption.

“The BOC must realize the value of amending this administrative order in order to put a stop to the problem of smuggling and entry of shabu into our ports as soon as possible,” Drilon said.

Legarda agreed with Drilon on the need for pre-shipment inspection and vowed to provide funds for it.

Pending before Malacañang or not?

Senator Legarda has given the BOC until the end of office hours on Monday, October 9, to clarify and finalize the status of the proposed amendment.

This was after Legarda said the BOC gave a supposedly wrong information that the proposal is already pending with the Office of the President.

“[We] checked with Malacañang, there is no such pending amendment proposal to the AO. So we are awaiting nothing,” Legarda said.

“Is there any pending amendment to the AO? [We ask BOC] to scour Malacañang, or the OSG [Office of the Solicitor General], or the offices. And if indeed there is none, then we decide what to do. I just don’t want to be inaccurate on record,” Legarda said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros criticized the BOC and said the information was volunteered by a Customs official.

“It’s just surprising because the information on the supposed proposed amendment was not a yes or no to a question [of the] minority leader because it was information volunteered by the resource person from the Bureau of Customs. – Rappler.com