BOC raids ‘ukay-ukay’ depot in Pasay City

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) raided an alleged central supply depot of used clothing or “ukay-ukay” and counterfeit imported goods in Pasay City on Monday. (Photo by Eugene Alvin Villar (seav) (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)])

Neil Anthony Estrella, director of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), said that simultaneous raids were conducted on four buildings which yielded several tons of used clothing or “ukay-ukay” packed in yellow bales marked with Chinese characters and stashed in almost every unit of 3rd up to 7th floor of the 7-storey building located at No. 159 Cuneta Avenue, Pasay City.

He noted that they are currently assessing the value of the items which were seized on the basis of four Mission Orders and four Letters of Authority issued by Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon on March 9, 2017.

“We cannot give the exact value of the seized used clothing or ‘ukay-ukay’ at the moment, but it is in great volume that could provide endless stocks (of that banned importations) in the supply chain within Metro Manila and in nearby provinces,” Estrella said in a statement.

Republic Act (RA) 4653 prohibits the importation of used clothing, rags, or “ukay-ukay” in commercial quantity to safeguard the health of the people and maintain the dignity of the nation.

Apart from the “ukay-ukay”, the BOC also uncovered huge stash of counterfeit products of original branded items sold in local and international markets.

These included Birkenstock, Lebron Nike, Vans, Sanuk, Havaianas, Ipanema Nike, Havaianas Fitflop, Sandugo, Versace, Nike Jordan, Adidas, Crocs, Star Wars (pokemon toys), Puma footwear, and Nike emblems.

Estrella added that raids being conducted by the bureau have been intensified as part of the campaign aimed at plugging tax leaks and snuffing out of all forms of smuggling as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

On the other hand, Intelligence Officer Joel Pinawin, head of the raiding team, said no one from the owners of items came forward to ownership of the products.

“In the interest of justice, we will make sure that the owners will be personally invited to the BOC to provide necessary import documents,” he added.