A Bureau of Customs (BOC) official has been cited in contempt for allegedly providing inconsistent statements during a Senate hearing on smuggling operations at the Port of Subic.

Former Chief Assessment Officer of BOC–Port of Subic, Juan Jose San Andres, was held in contempt on Wednesday, December 3, during the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform’s public hearing on containers suspected of carrying smuggled agricultural products.

Senator Erwin Tulfo moved to cite San Andres in contempt, alleging that he misled the committee after Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Carlos Carag confirmed that three containers consigned to Berches Consumer Goods Trading were reportedly intended for a non-existent warehouse in Angat, Bulacan.

“I move that we cite Mr. San Andres in contempt para magnilay-nilay doon sa baba and para mabigyan tayo ng idea itong smuggling na ito, and this has to stop, this committee should stop this,” Tulfo said.

The motion was approved by Committee Chair Senator Kiko Pangilinan.

“On the basis of the motion, as well as the explanation of Mr. San Andres and clarification from Usec. Carlos Carag, we second the motion, you are cited in contempt by this committee,” Pangilinan declared.

San Andres said the release of the containers, saying it was coordinated with the Inspectorate and Enforcement (DAIE) unit of the DA for a 100% physical inspection at the purported Berches warehouse.

However, Carag refuted this claim, noting that the DAIE pursued several BOC personnel after discovering that the containers had already been released from the port.

During the hearing, the Senate Committee on Agriculture labeled the continued smuggling of agricultural goods in the country as a "national security crisis."

Lawmakers expressed strong dismay at the persistence of illegal activities, which they described as a direct threat to national food security and the livelihoods of local farmers.