No papers. No excuses. No mercy.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has drawn a clear line in the sand—and smugglers in Cebu just crossed it.

On January 31, the BOC–Port of Cebu, through the Subport of Mactan, intercepted ₱1.68 million worth of undeclared mobile phones sneaked in under the guise of “personal effects.” Inside twelve innocent-looking packages were 247 units of branded mobile phones from China—a commercial haul masquerading as private baggage.

Customs wasn’t fooled.

Questionable X-ray images triggered alarms, prompting a full physical examination. What officers found confirmed the worst: deliberate misdeclaration, a classic smuggling trick meant to dodge duties and taxes.

And this time, Customs hit back—hard.

Yap-Lumontad Moves Fast

District Collector Alexandra Yap-Lumontad wasted no time. A Warrant of Seizure and Detention was swiftly issued, citing clear violations of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (RA 10863).

Her message was blunt: Cebu is not a playground for smugglers.

Yap-Lumontad stressed that the seizure is fully aligned with the marching orders of Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno—to relentlessly crush misdeclaration, misclassification, and undervaluation wherever they surface.

Nepomuceno’s Orders, Enforced

At the top, Commissioner Nepomuceno made it clear: this is exactly how Customs should operate.

He commended the Port of Cebu’s vigilance and teamwork, underscoring that technology-driven enforcement and zero-tolerance inspections are now the backbone of Customs operations—fully in step with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to tighten border protection.

This seizure, Nepomuceno emphasized, proves that smugglers can no longer hide behind fake declarations and creative paperwork.

Smugglers Warned

Support of Mactan Port Collector Gerardo A. Campo credited the bust to airtight coordination among Customs units and the new inspection protocols rolled out by the District Office. Under these rules, inconsistencies are caught fast—and punished faster.

The takeaway is simple:
If your declaration lies, Customs will strike.

With Nepomuceno calling the shots and Yap-Lumontad enforcing them on the ground, the message from Cebu is unmistakable—smuggling will be detected, seized, and stopped.

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