SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—A trading company here is facing sanctions from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), aside from a criminal complaint from law enforcers, after it was caught “tampering” with the expiration dates of food products kept in its warehouse here.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said Phil-Em Enterprise Inc., which is located at the Global Industrial Park in the Subic Bay Freeport, may lose its certificate of registration and tax exemption (CRTE) from the Subic agency, as well as its consent to sublease a warehouse, because of its violations.
According to a report from the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation Office (SBMA-IIO), elements of the National Bureau of Investigation and the SBMA-IIO raided the Phil-Em warehouse early Monday on the strength of a search warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court in Olongapo City.
During the operation, law-enforcement agents caught Phil-Em employees in the act of erasing the expiry dates on packs of Clover Chips and replacing the same with new dates using printing machines, said SBMA-IIO Officer in Charge Rodel del Rosario.
“It saddens me to know that some unscrupulous people are taking advantage of others especially in this time of a pandemic,” Eisma said on Tuesday.
“We will not tolerate any activity that violates the law and besmirches the solid reputation of the Subic Bay Freeport as the leading economic center…,” she added.
Del Rosario said the raid last Monday was conducted following a lengthy surveillance of the said company.
Subsequently, the operatives confiscated four Citronex printers with conveyors, 150 reams of label stickers, 50 reams of various printed label stickers, and two cans of eraser fluid.
The agents also seized several boxes of food items like Clover Chips, Ligo Sardines, Nissins Cup Noodles, Century Tuna, Milo Energy Drink, Sky Flakes Crackers, Star Margarine, Magnolia cheese, Royal and Fiesta pasta, Lily’s peanut butter, and food seasoning.
Among those who were arrested during the raid was Philip Velasco, reportedly a co-owner of the company. Del Rosario said the search warrant was addressed to Velasco and another purported owner, Amanda Pathak.
Those arrested were brought to the NBI office in Olongapo for further investigation. The suspects will be charged with violation of RA 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, RA 9711 of the Food and Drugs Administration Act of 2009, and RA 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013.
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