What You Should Know About Pork and Meat Importation Process
It has been alleged by leaders of the local hog raising industry that the Bureau of Customs is abetting the smuggling of pork and pork products and that it has gone unabated. Of course, the BOC asserts that it does not abet smuggling, although it is a fact that unscrupulous importers persistently attempt to cheat the government and sometimes succeed.
But in order to properly assess the situation of pork smuggling, it is necessary for everyone to know the process involved. Contrary to public perception, in the importation of meat, the Bureau of Customs plays a secondary role in ensuring that the imported meat (poultry, pork, beef and other meat products) conforms to government standards as to quality, quantity and classification.
My Letter to Mr. David Letterman
Dear Mr. Letterman,
This is to call your attention to what seems to be an inaccurate account of one of your guest’s experience on the way to a shoot in a foreign location. I refer to the interview of Mr. Taylor Kitsch (aired February 29, 2012), where he told the story of how he was stopped at the airport by what he refers to as a “Customs officer”.
In his narration, he described being stopped and told that he would be sent back to Japan because there was no space in his passport for the officer to put a stamp on. Mr. Taylor further described that while he was trying to prove his identity by showing a video of his movie on his iPhone, the officer who accosted him allegedly said, “Can you get me one of those?”.
This became a concern for the Philippine Bureau of Customs since there has been an
Mr. Taylor Kitsch, “Hello!” from the Philippines
It is with seriousness that I take into account the story related by Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch in an interview in the Late Show with David Letterman. As soon as it came to my attention, I immediately conducted an inquiry into his allegation.
My concern stems from the fact that such an allegation not only puts the Bureau of Customs (which I head) in a bad light but the country as well. For the past five months, I have been trying to reverse the negative image of the BOC, so incidents like this undermine those efforts.
Of course, the first thing I did was to watch the interview of Mr. Kitsch, since it was his direct narration of what happened. Mr. Kitsch described his experience as he arrived in the Philippines on board a flight from Japan. As he went through the arrival process, he described being called by an officer and
