Story & Photos by HENRY EMPEÑO | March 27, 2026

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The Bureau of Customs (BOC) confiscated here on Friday more than P47.4 million worth of smuggled meat products from China.

Customs Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno said the illicit products arrived here on January 25 in four container vans declared as containing assorted seafoods.

Upon inspection, however, these were found to be loaded with various beef, pork, and chicken meat, as well as seafood products, he said.

“The direct value of these products is P39.5 million. If we include the necessary taxes, these will cost at least P47.4 million,” Nepomuceno said.

“Malaki ang nawawala dito sa pamahalaan, kaya kailangan talaga itong aksiyonan,” he added.

Nepomuceno identified the importer of the seized products as Multirich Consumer Goods Wholesaling. The company is a port user in Subic, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Port Operations Group said.

Nepomuceno said those involved in the smuggling will be charged under the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, or Republic Act 12022. The law deems large-scale smuggling of agricultural and fishery products as economic sabotage and imposes severe penalties, including life imprisonment and fines five times the value of the goods.

He said the importer of smuggled products are liable under RA 12022 because the value of the smuggled items is beyond the threshold level of P10 million.

“Mabigat iyan. Walang piyansa diyan [It is a serious offense. It is non-bailable],” Nepomuceno stressed.

He said charges will also be filed against the importer under the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, or RA 10863.

Nepomuceno said his office will decide whether the confiscated goods will be destroyed or distributed and donated to charitable institutions.

The BOC seized the shipment of smuggled meat products in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the SBMA.

The BOC issued an alert order on the shipment on February 2 following information that the shipment was suspected to contain agricultural products.

According to an inspection report from the SBMA Port Operations Group, the cargo in four container vans were declared to be containing assorted shabu-shabu balls.

However, joint inspection by the authorities on February 6, March 19, 24 and 26 revealed that the actual contents contained other frozen food products, as follows:

• Container 1 (2,055 cartons): assorted shabu-shabu balls, crispy pigeon, roasted goose, potato rice balls, sausage, roasted duck, and Cantonese poached chicken.

• Container 2 (2,535 cartons): meat balls, BBQ rice cake, beef tendon balls, grilled gluten skewers, chicken liu, pork and rice siomai, fishballs, red sugar rice cake, puff pastry pies, crab sticks, raw taro strips, fish tofu, Angus beef rolls, pork buns, glutinous rice balls, fried pigeon, shepherd pork dumpling, flower sausage, pumpkin cake, egg tart crust, crab meat sticks, taro balls, hand-pulled brown buns, abalone, mushroom, meat balls, surimi, beef tripes, crispy meat balls, sliced conch, beef slices, por fan bones, squid, snake head fish slices, milk-flavored steamed buns, shitake mushroom meat balls, taro sweet potato, scallion pancakes, black pepper beef ribs, shrimp paste, white thousand layer dimsum, sea snail slices, and pickled cabbage fish meal.

• Container 3 (1,796 cartons): Peking duck, beef tendon balls, frozen fresh bullfrog, and lamb hind leg skin.

• Container 4 (1,561 cartons): fish balls, lobster-flavored balls, and frozen chicken breast.

BOC examiners also noted that some of the items were expired, while others have no expiration date on the boxes.

The cargo will be subjected to seizure proceedings by the BOC and for forfeiture in favor of the government, the SBMA report added. ▲