President Benigno Aquino’s pledge against corruption bolsters Operation Hammerdown of the sugar industry that is aimed at going after sugar smugglers, retired Gen. Joel Goltiao, head of the Sugar Anti Smuggling Organization, said in a press release yesterday.

In his speech at the 75th anniversary of the National Bureau of Investigation, Aquino reiterated his stand to aggressively hunt down corrupt officials and make them accountable to the people, Goltiao said.

This policy statement supports the objectives of Operation Hammerdown, which is the sugar industry’s plan for crop year 2011 / 12 in addressing the smuggling problem, Goltiao said, at the launching of the program.

Hammerdown provides all the legal documentations in pinning down all the entities involved in sugar smuggling. It targets the upstream components of the illegal activity while also tackling the downstream wholesaling and retailing of smuggled sugar in the domestic market, he said.

Recently, SASO personnel uncovered attempts by individuals to facilitate the release of 54,900 bags of smuggled sugar stocks confiscated in June in Meycauayan, Bulacan, Goltiao said in the press release.

The stocks are now in a warehouse in Bulacan and guarded by BoC personnel. A similar attempt was reported to release from the Port of Manila 16 containers of smuggled sugar (about 8,000 bags) already declared as “abandoned” by the BoC officials of the port. All available information has been forwarded to the government agencies concerned for their appropriate action, he added.*

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