The Bureau of Customs yesterday said that the
executive order (OE) creating the new collection district in the
Port of Limay, which will handle bulk of Petron Corp.’s oil
imports, is not yet ready.
"The Port of Limay will be a special port
that will cater to crude and petroleum imports mostly from
Petron and other oil firms like Oilink International Corp.,"
Commissioner Napoleon Morales said.
"Oil importations of Petron amount to about
P30 billion a year. Petron’s depot in Limay supplies the demand
for fuels all over the world," he added.
Petron services vital industries such as
transport, manufacturing, shipping, and power generation in the
country.
Morales explained that the Port of Manila
will be affected, as some oil imports will be shipped directly
to Limay. However, they are yet to assess the revenue collection
in the said port hoping that it will help meets the bureau with
its assigned collection.
"With the release of the EO, Petron and other
importers can file import entry but, as of now it is being
discussed in the cabinet meeting," he said.
He added that they would also ask the
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the hiring of
additional personnel in the said port.
The bureau has allocated a portion of its
budget for the computerization requirements in Limay.
Atty. Lourdes Mangaoang, head of the x-ray
scanning unit said, they can also detail mobile scanners when
the need arisen.
"That’s why we have mobile scanning machine
so that we can transfer it from one port to another. We can put
x-ray in Limay if there are cargo operations and if the volume
increase," Mangaoang said.
BOC has approved CAO 2-2008 on the creation
of a new collection district in Port Limay in Bataan.
Meanwhile, BOC has ordered the issuance of
warrants of seizure and detention of shipments of Oilink for
failure to settle penalty amounting to P2.7 billion.
Morales, said the bureau cannot accept the
compromise agreement as, the law does not allow them to
compromise the penalty.
"We will only allow compromise if Oilink will
ask for staggered payments," he said.
Asst. Commissioner Jun Ligon, chief of post
entry audit group (PEAG) said the firm’s offer to settle the
penalties in the amount of P15 million is too far from its
administrative liabilities.
"They offer the settlement without allowing us to open their
books and they made the offer in the middle of the game, when
they knew they are losing in this case.. It’s really ‘too late
the hero’," Ligon said.
