MANILA: Three officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu will face trial for their alleged involvement in the pilferage of 272 sacks of rice from the Cebu International Port (CIP) in July 2013.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas found basis to recommend the filing of charges against Edward dela Cuesta, former BOC Port of Cebu district collector; Major Camilo Cascolan Jr., former BOC Enforcement and Security Service district commander; and Jimmy Aguilar.
They “committed gross inexcusable negligence in dealing with the abandoned smuggled rice, which resulted to its pilferage,” read the ombudsman’s resolution penned by Irish Inabangan-Amores, graft investigation and prosecution officer.
In doing so, the three may have violated Sec. 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The customs officials were investigated for alleged malversation of public property (Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code) and gross neglect of duty.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 and the anti-graft office conducted a parallel investigation on the matter.
The missing sacks of rice were part of the smuggled rice worth P1.2 billion that had arrived in Cebu in different shipments.
The BOC’s Enforcement and Security Service is the official custodian of all confiscated cargo. BOC seized the goods in March and April 2013.
Under the Tariff and Customs Code, the BOC is the office responsible for securing and guarding cargo as soon as a notice of abandonment and warrant of seizure and detention are issued.
The rice, which was stored in the CIP container yard, was supposed to be sold in public auctions last June 25 and July 18, 2013.
In its memorandum, the BOC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service said the seals of nine container vans inside the CIP container yard were broken.
The NBI 7, in its investigation report, said that 270 sacks of rice went missing from the nine container vans that had no seals.
At the auction price of P1,374.65 per sack, the ombudsman said the government’s loss reached at least P373,904 for the 272 missing sacks of rice.
Replying to the charges, de la Cuesta said the primary responsibility of securing the goods in the custody of Oriental Port and Allied Services Corp. (Opascor) lies with the district commander BOC’s Enforcement and Security Service.
De la Cuesta said he could not be faulted merely because of the principle of command responsibility when his subordinates failed to secure the goods.
Cascolan and Aguilar, in their counter-affidavit, said the smuggled sacks of rice were kept in the Cebu International Port container yard and that only the OPASCOR guards were allowed entry, unless an access pass is given to port security.
In the 15-page resolution, graft investigator Amores said that the pilferage may be attributed to the respondents.
“There was gross inexcusable negligence on their part because it was incumbent upon them to safeguard the abandoned smuggled rice, yet they deliberately failed in this respect,” said Amores.
However, the ombudsman dismissed the malversation of public property charge against the respondents, for lack of evidence.
