Sugar Regulatory Administrator David Alba said on Tuesday, January 17, that he will recommend to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to allow the sale of 80,000 bags of seized smuggled sugar to the public through Kadiwa rolling stores.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) seized the about 4,000 metric tons of refined sugar from Thailand valued at P240 million on board MV Sunward at the Port of Batangas on Friday, Alba said.
The BOC earlier estimated the cost of the seized sugar, which had no import permit, at P261 million.
Alba thanked the BOC enforcement unit and Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz for their “vigilance that led to the seizure of the smuggled sugar.”
Alba said that he will ask the President to have the seized sugar sold through Kadiwa so the public “can enjoy refined sugar at a lower cost.”
He also warned traders who are in cahoots with the smugglers that “the full force of the law will go after you.”
Alba asked all government enforcement agencies to provide the SRA with the necessary information so they can go after sugar smugglers.*