The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has listed 118 overstaying containers at the Port of Manila that are subject to forfeiture after 15 days.
In a public notice posted on May 4, BOC said that pursuant to Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 24-2015, overstaying containers at Port of Manila as of April 2017 will be declared in 15 days forfeited to ensure their speedy disposition through auction or condemnation.
According to an endorsement signed by Port of Manila Auction and Cargo Disposal Division acting chief Oscar Villalva, the 118 overstaying containers, as of April 2017, have a dwell time ranging from at least 60 days to as long as 5,012 days.
Under CMO No. 24-2015, an importation is deemed abandoned under two circumstances. One is when the owner, importer, or consignee of the imported article “expressly signifies in writing to the Collector of Customs his intention to abandon.”
The other is when the cargo owner, after due notice, does not file an entry within 30 days, “which shall not be extendible, from the date of discharge of the last package from the vessel or aircraft, or having filed such entry, [the cargo owner] fails to claim his importation within 15 days, which shall likewise not be extendible, from the date of posting of the notice to claim such importation.”
The CMO said any person who abandons an article or who fails to claim his importation “shall be deemed to have renounced all his interests and property rights therein.”
Moreover, “an abandoned article shall ipso facto be deemed the property of the government and shall be disposed (of) in accordance with the provisions of the TCCP (Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines).”
In a separate public notice published on May 5, BOC said its Port of Manila collection district is planning to auction overstaying parcels stocked at the Lawton Postal Station, which have already been examined but remain unclaimed by addressees or claimants.
The 49 overstaying parcels contain, among others, used clothing, mobile phone cases, noodles, and chocolates.
