Customs files smuggling raps vs importers of P18-M onions, peking ducks

MANILA, Philippines— The Bureau of Customs on Thursday filed before the Department of Justice smuggling complaint against five traders and two licensed brokers for the unlawful importation of agricultural products such as onions and peking ducks worth P18 million.

Respondents were identified as Rady Salguero Garbosa, owner of RSG Marketing together with his import manager  and broker Adonis Andilab and Jucylita Garcia; Jaime Martinez, owner of Reachable Enterprises and his broker Janet Jackelou Cariga; and Estelito Mallari and Gary Madugnon, the consignee and shiper of a shipment from Cagayan de Oro City.

Garbosa, together with Andilab and Garcia are facing two counts of smuggling onions and pecking ducks worth P10million without the necessary import permits from the government.

Mallari and Madugnon, on the other hand attempted to ship into the country imported onions worth P4 million. The two made it appear that the shipment was a locally produced tomatoes. Martinez and Cariga meanwhile declared their shipments as umbrellas, lamps, plasticware and office supplies but was discovered to be P4-million worth of imported onions.