Task Force Pantalan to run after smugglers

MANILA, Philippines – A special task force originally created to solve the traffic problem caused by port congestion in Manila will now run after smugglers as well.

Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina said on Saturday, June 6, that he has given “authority” to Task Force Pantalan to run after illegal shipments, incuding those that have left Manila ports.

Lina said that the task force can “make arrests” as long as it turns over the seized shipment and the arrested individuals to the Bureau of Customs.

Task Force Pantalan was created in September 2014 to address the worsening traffic problem in Manila caused by the city government’s daytime truck ban. (READ: MMDA to manage gridlocked roads near Manila ports)

It is composed of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the National Capital Region Police Office, and the Philippine National Police’s Highway Patrol Group.

Lina said he had earlier deputized Task Force Pantalan to nab a trailer truck containing imported sugar from China in Navotas. The goods were misdeclared as school supplies.

Joint operatives from the special task force and the BOC seized the truck while conducting clearing operations against illegally parked trailer trucks along the R-10 road.

Since Lina’s assumption as the Customs chief in April, Task Force Pantalan has been ordered to apprehend illegal shipments in Manila. However, this did not sit well with some BOC insiders and stakeholders, who expressed fears that the task force may end up like the defunct Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group.

Customs Deputy Commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group Agaton Uvero defended Lina, saying there is nothing wrong with the decision to deputize Task Force Pantalan to run after smugglers.

Uvero said  this is allowed under the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP).

“It is clear in the TCCP, the commissioner may deputize our law enforcement agencies outside of Customs to assist Customs in enforcing its obligations and accountabilities,” Uvero said. – Mara Cepeda/Rappler.com