‘illegal’ raid

Oilink to file charges vs PASG over ‘illegal’ raid

10/13/2008 04:58 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Oilink International Corporation on Monday said they are preparing charges against the government's anti-smuggling operatives over its “illegal” raid at their terminal in Mariveles, Bataan earlier in the day.“The corporation is reserving the right to file appropriate criminal and civil actions if the circumstances so warrant,” Oilink legal counsel Raymond Zorilla told reporters at a press conference in Quezon City.Zorrilla said the raiding team did not identify themselves and refused to present a mission order or a search warrant.“When I asked for their names and purpose, they said that they don’t need one because they are members of a presidential task force,” Zorrilla said, quoting Oilink operations supervisor Mark De Leon.Zorrilla also accused the team, all members of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG), of destroying the gates of their compound and hitting De Leon in the chest when he insisted on seeing the mission order.PASG agents swooped down at the Oilink compound 11 a.m., accusing the firm of defrauding the government of hundreds of millions worth of taxes through technical smuggling.PASG head Antonio Villar Jr, who personally led the operation, said the raid was done against Unioil Petroleum Products Inc., which was suspected to be a dummy of the controversial Oilink Inc.Villar said the oil shipment of Unioil was illegal because it did not pass through the office of Bureau of Customs (BOC) Limay district collector Edward Baltazar.Unioil president Kenneth Pundanera, meanwhile, denied that the shipment was illegal.“How can there be illegal withdrawal when the shipments of Unioil have been cleared and ordered release by no less than the Commissioner of Customs?” he said.“Besides, what is the authority of Collector Baltazar to question us when it has been published last September that he was suspended by the Ombudsman as district collector for three months,” he added.Pundanera stressed that all the taxes and duties for the shipments of Unioil have been paid.Pundanera also questioned that action of the PASG, saying that they have been under constant surveillance by Customs personnel.On the other hand, Zorrilla said that PASG may have mistaken Oilink and Unioil as one entity.“Oilink owns the terminal in Bataan while Unioil, and some other oil companies, lease several shore tanks within the terminal pursuant to a valid agreement,” he said. “We have already shown the documents to prove these claims to the BOC. In fact it can be recalled that the Bureau initially held the products of Unioil, but after some verification as to its separate corporate entity, the Bureau subsequently released the shipments.” Zorrilla added. Villar, in a press statement, defended that what they did was legal and that investigations conducted by the group found out that both Unioil and Oilink are owned by a certain Paul Chi Thing Co.Zorrilla, meanwhile, said that they will file the appropriate criminal and civil actions, particularly the physical injuries sustained by De Leon, against the PASG personnel.As of posting, the PASG personnel are still in control of the 12-hectare facility located at Lucanin village.Zorrilla said the facility houses about 1 million barrels of oil or close to 160 million liters of oil. -

 with Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV