An Open Letter to President Noynoy Aquino

Our beloved President Aquino


You said in your well-applauded inaugural address last June 30: “We will strengthen collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and we will fight corruption in the Bureau of Customs in order to fund our objectives for the public welfare…”

You also said that we, the Filipino people, can bring our concerns to you directly because, to borrow your own words, we are “your boss.”

In this light, we are imploring you to once and for all put a stop to the well-reported technical smuggling of Turkish flour into the country by some unscrupulous traders and their protectors at Customs.

In 2009 alone, it is estimated that government lost at least P50 million in duties and other taxes due to the undervaluation of Turkish flour entering our ports.

If Turkish flour smuggling goes unchecked, it could translate to billions of pesos in foregone government revenues in the six years of your administration.

Likewise, it will undermine your avowed stance that “if no one is corrupt, no one will be poor.”

Mr. President, as you read this, please consider that many of our countrymen unknowingly eat pandesal made from Turkish flour with low nutrient content mixed with local flour to mask its inferior quality.

Thus, this matter requires your immediate and decisive action because some greedy traders are only too willing to endanger our people’s health and well-being just so they can make huge profits.

Again, in closing, we go back to your inspiring inaugural speech, Mr. President:

"To our impoverished countrymen, starting today, your government will be your champion.”

Turkish flour smuggling worsens

Smuggling of Turkish flour went unabated in the first five months of 2010 with government revenue losses for the period estimated to reach P51 million, according to local flour millers.

Ric M. Pinca, executive director of the Philippine Association of Flour Millers, had said that the losses covered only importations done by eight companies and did not include value added tax and import duty losses from misdeclared importations.

Turkish flour had been misdeclared as other items like soybean meal, which enjoyed zero duty and were not covered by VAT.

Pinca said that PAFMIL had already brought the matter to the attention of the Customs bureau although Commissioner-designate Alvarez hasn’t issued any official statement on the lingering problem.

Smugglers had been found to have declared import value of Turkish flours as low as $24.77 per metric ton, or just nine percent of the BOC value reference for Turkish flour of $300/MT.

The losses were the result of the undervaluation of imports by the eight companies, which Pinca had refused to identify.

One of the eight companies imported 8,592 MT of Turkish flour but declared only 5,389MT, with government losing at least P13.8 million, he said.

About 7,086MT was brought in by another company but it declared only 4,961MT, causing the government to lose P12.1 million in duties and VAT.

Pinca said that a third importer declared a total of 10,488MT but that it undervalued it by 23.3 percent, evading tax payment of P6.9 million.

The PAFMIL official revealed that the first two companies’ shipments came in through the Manila International Container Port (MICP) while the third passed through the MICP and the Port of Manila.

Source: http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNation.htm?f=2010/july/19/nation5.isx&d=2010/july/19

Gov’t lost P51M in Turkish flour smuggling, millers say

The government might have lost P51 million in revenues from the technical smuggling of Turkish flour in the first five months of the year, according to Ric M. Pinca, executive director of the Philippine Association of Flour Millers (PAFMIL).

Pinca said the estimate was contained in documents submitted by PAFMIL to the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Pinca said these losses do not include value added tax and import duty losses from flour importations which were declared as other items, such as soybean meal, which enjoys zero duty and are not covered by VAT.

He said smugglers declare import values as low as 24.77 per metric ton or only nine percent of the BOC value reference for Turkish flour of $300 per mt.

Pinca said the losses were incurred from the undervaluation of imports by just eight companies alone but PAFMIL would not reveal the names of the flour importers pending the BOC investigation.

Pinca said one company imported 8,592 mt of Turkish flour but declared only 5,389 mt.. PAFMIL estimates government loss here at P13.8 million.

Another company brought in 7,086 mt. of Turkish flour but declared only 4,961 mt., evading payment of P12.1 million in duties and VAT.

A third importer declared a total of 10,488 mt importation but undervalued it by 23.3 percent, thus evading payment of P6.9 million in VAT and import duties.

Pinca said the first two companies’ shipment came in through the Manila international Container Port (MICP) while the third’s passed through both the MICP and the Port of Manila (POM).

Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/07162010/busi8.html