Authorities from CIDG Palawan Unit have seized an estimated P1M worth of “ukay-ukay” products following an entrapment operation on Wednesday, August 25, at a warehouse located in Barangay San Jose, Puerto Princesa City.
In a phone interview with PMAJ Richard John Macachor, Provincial Officer of CIDG Palawan, an entrapment operation was conducted by authorities through reports and a concluded surveillance confirming that the warehouse is packed with hundreds of bales of smuggled or illegal used clothes or ukay-ukay.
Inside the warehouse, authorities discovered bales of “ukay-ukay” containing used clothing, bed sheets, and curtains.
An inventory was then conducted by the operatives, which later estimated the value of the seized goods at more or less P1 million.
Macachor added that raids and entrapment operations such as this will be intensified starting today as the national government adheres to guard the public from unhealthy effects of used clothes from other countries.
“Iniiwas natin sila sa sakit na maaring makuha sa mga unsanitized ukay-ukay. Sunod-sunod na rin ang campaign namin. Kasi marami tayong reports na natatanggap na napaka-rampant na ng ganitong klaseng negosyo sa probinsiya. Maging sa mga mga LGUs,” Macachor said.
When asked why online sellers and ukay merchandisers are required by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to secure business permits and license even if this kind of business is considered illegal, Macachor said that their agency only focus on the confiscation of the products itself and not by the compliance asked by the BIR.