According to a report by Manila Times on July 30th, the Philippines' anti-crime watchdog organization has called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address the issue of corruption within the Bureau of Customs (BOC). The organization expressed concerns that confiscated e-cigarette products may have already been sold.
Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) National Chairman Diego Magpantay has stated that e-cigarette products worth 500 million pesos (8.52 million USD) seized, are being recycled.
He cited reports saying that the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, the Intellectual Property Rights Division, and the head of the Manila port issued a "hold order" to a designated disposal facility. Therefore, it is claimed that the storage of these products no longer needs to go through the Office of the Customs Commissioner.
However, the organization stated that these products may be reused or sold without the knowledge of the customs commissioner. In a statement, CCW said that the customs office should conduct another inventory to determine if the seized products are still in the warehouse.
The organization is also concerned that the counterfeit products worth 11 billion pesos (1.8 billion US dollars) recently seized in Binondo may be "recycled.
Last week, a large-scale operation was carried out in Binondo, Manila, where authorities seized counterfeit products worth 11 billion pesos (1.8 billion US dollars).
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