By Darryl John Esguerra
MANILA – Some 300 containers of rice that have been found “overstaying” at the Port of Manila have been claimed by their respective consignees, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said Monday.
These were part of the 888 containers containing 23 million kilos of imported rice that the PPA had flagged as unclaimed despite being cleared by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
“Dahil sa ating pagsisiwalat ng mga overstaying containers po diyan ng bigas, over the weekend lamang po ay nasa tatlondaang containers po ang na-pullout na ng mga kaniya-kaniyang consignees nito (Because of our monitoring on overstaying containers of rice, 300 containers have been pulled out by their consignees over the weekend),” PPA General Manager Jay Santiago said in a Palace press briefing.
“We look forward na sa mga darating pa pong mga araw hanggang katapusan po ng buwang ito ay tuluyan pa pong mababawasan iyong mga overstaying containers natin diyan na naglalaman ng bigas (We look forward that in the coming days until the end of this month, our overstaying containers that contain rice will be pulled out),” he added.
Santiago said unclaimed shipments by Oct. 1 will be declared “abandoned” by the BOC and may be put to auction or donated to other agencies.
No port congestion
The PPA chief also assured the public that the country has not been experiencing congestion in any of its ports and is actually prepared for the expected increase in cargo traffic due to the upcoming holiday season.
“Handa na po ang mga pantalan natin sa pagdagsa noong mga kargamento ‘no, na kinakailangan para sa darating na kapaskuhan (Our ports are ready for the arrival of cargo, which is needed for the upcoming holiday season),” Santiago said.
“Inaasahan po natin na tataas po iyong cargo traffic natin sa mga terminal ng PPA leading towards Christmas, starting November hanggang bago po mag-Chinese New Year sa susunod na taon (We expect that our cargo traffic will increase in PPA terminals leading towards Christmas, starting November until before Chinese New Year next year).”
DA probe
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is currently working with relevant government agencies to ascertain whether a case of hoarding or profiteering may be pursued against the consignees of the overstaying rice containers.
“Identified naman kung sino iyong consigne, as per GM Santiago. So, part ito ng pag-review namin ngayon (The consignees are identified, as per GM Santiago. So, this is part of our review),” DA Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Arnel De Mesa said in the same press briefing. (PNA)
