Agents seize P190-m shipment of misdeclared items in Subic

By Joseph Muego SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Coordinated

ANGELES CITY—Mayor Carmelo

Lazatin, Jr. on Wednesday carried out a house-to-house distribution of cash assistance and Vitamin C supplements to 6,533 seniors in five barangays here.

The distribution to the remaining 28 barangays will be via a set schedule.

Assisted by the Office for Senior Citizen Affairs, a total of 6,533 elderly were given the regular P1,000 cash assistance and 90 pieces of Vitamin C supplements in Barangays Sapangbato (1,411); San Jose (1,159); Pampang (2,101); Margot (972); and Cuayan (890) during the first day of distribution.

The city government, under the leadership of Lazatin, has been distributing cash assistance and Vitamin C supplements to all senior citizens in the city since 2020.

This year, a total of 48,439 registered senior citizens from the 33 barangays are set to receive the said assistance as concurred through a meeting presided by Chief Adviser IC Calaguas with Executive Assistant IV Reina Manuel, OSCA Deputy May David and Gender and Development Officer-in-Charge Mina Cabiles. Butch Gunio

Mayor leads cash aid distributon in Angeles Angeles City automated slaughterhouse opens

MAYOR Carmelo Lazatin, Jr. on Tuesday has formally inaugurated the first automatic and humane slaughterhouse accredited by the National Meat Inspection Service.

Located in Sta. Trinidad, processed meat from the newly-renovated Angeles City slaughterhouse can also be distributed outside the city “We will ensure that under our watch there will be no more inhumane, animal torture, and abuse animals,” Lazatin said.

In the new slaughterhouse, automated poultry dressing plant, wastewater treatment facility, and its very own ice plant have been installed.

The environment-friendly slaughterhouse will be able to process 4,000 to 5,000 chicken per hour; 700 to 1,000 hogs per 12-hour operation; and 100 to 200 cattle and carabaos per 12hour operation.

In terms of treating the animals humanely, the new facility will employ a humane strategy, where animals will be stunned first before they are processed. Butch efforts by government agencies here have led to the confiscation of misdeclared items worth a total of P190 million.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), together with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday inspected about 60 containers.

SBMA chairman and Administrator Rolen

C. Paulino, the BOC Port of Subic thru the information from the DA, discovered the containers loaded with 30,000 sacks of misdeclared refined sugar worth P150 million.

District Collector Maritess Martin said that the agency is set to issue a warrant of seizure and detention (WSD) against the subject containers for violation of Section

1400, in relation to Section 1113 (f) of the Republic Act 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), and Sugar Regulatory Authority and BOC Joint Memorandum Order No. 04-2002.

“Aside from the 58 containers, we also examined two containers of squid rings inside several misdeclared assorted frozen meat products that costs around P40 million. We will also issue a WSD against the two containers with misdeclared frozen meat for violation of pertinent provisions of the CMTA,” she said.

Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio lauded the vigilance of the pertinent agencies, citing, “the BOC continues to maximize its intelligence resources and intensify enforcement measures to thwart all attempts of smuggling, especially those involving agricultural products that negatively impact our local farmers and businesses.”