168 Mall ni-raid

[BlueBimmer]

reported in TV Patrol, 168 mall was raided, stall owners could not show any import papers on their products and the items were confiscated, stalls were also closed down.

naku wala na mabilhan ng cheap gifts, divisoria mall nalang :D

[BlueBimmer]

eto pala from inquirer:

AT least 20,000 sacks of suspected smuggled goods were seized by police and the Bureau of Customs on Thursday following a raid at the 168 Shopping Mall in Manila, a customs official said.

Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the raiders asked mall tenants for proof that they paid taxes and duties for their imported goods, but most of them failed to produce the necessary receipts, resulting in the seizure of their wares.

As of 4:30 p.m., the inspection and inventory were still ongoing, Morales said.

Morales said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the raid, which was prompted by a complaint from the Philippine Retailers Association about unfair trade practices.

He added that the operation was meant to send a signal to "economic saboteurs" that the bureau would run after smuggled goods.

The 168 Shopping Mall in Binondo, Manila, has become popular because items there can be bought at relatively cheaper prices than in other shopping centers.

800 tenants who sell clothes, shoes, bags, makeup, toys, accessories, household items and school and office supplies, among others.

Meanwhile, the President boasted before a forum of American businessmen about the raid, which she described as the government's biggest crackdown against smugglers in the country.

Arroyo said the raid, which involved 500 customs agents, was proof of the government’s determination to fight corruption and raise revenues.

"Today, we are in the process even as we speak of conducting the biggest raid against smugglers in the history of the Philippines," she said at the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chamber of Commerce in Makati City.

"This is going to fight corruption, this is going to raise revenues, this is going to protect the businessmen who are doing legitimate production, and this is the kind of reform that we will continue to do alongside our constitutional reform to make our process of lawmaking more attuned to the new flat economy," she said.

[Bogeyman]

168 Mall faces closure after Customs raid

Manila's famous DV 168 Mall faces possible closure after government authorities discovered that almost all of the items being sold in the mall were smuggled, ABS-CBN News learned Thursday.

Joint elements of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Manila Police District and the National Bureau of Investigation raided the mall Thursday morning after receiving complaints from the Retailers Association of the Philippines.

BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales said raiders confiscated at least P80 million to P100 million worth of imported products being sold in different stalls in the mall.

Morales said the goods were confiscated after stall owners failed to show documents of tax payments to the BOC. He added that stall owners could redeem their goods once they present the proper documents before the Customs office.

President Arroyo said the raid was one the "biggest raids in the history of the Philippines" involving at least 500 BOC agents.

"Five hundred customs agents are involved in this giant raid and this is going to fight corruption. This is going to raise revenues. This is going to protect businessmen who are doing legitimate production and this is the kind of reform we will continue to do alongside our political reforms to make the process of our lawmaking more attuned to the new flat economy," she said.

The Philippine Retailers Association earlier filed a complaint before the finance and trade and industry departments because of unfair competition created by 168 Mall, which attracts customers that cut across economic classes.

Manuel Tan, a regular customer of 168 Mall, said the products being sold in the mall has the same quality as those being sold in other famous malls in Metro Manila."Mas mura dito pero 'yung quality halos the same rin ng mamahalin (It's cheaper here and the quality of the goods almost the same as the expensive ones)," Tan told ABS-CBN.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry earlier said it would probe alleged smuggling in Divisoria. The association said it would also go after the illegal Chinese aliens who were reported working in 168 Mall.

Late last year, retailers reported a 50-percent decline in sales owing to competition from 168 Mall, which offers much cheaper prices.

[tebs]

pati daw divisoria mall, rinaid sabi ng ate ko. pumunta nga sya kanina dahil mamimili sana. pag punta nya dun, puro sarado na nga daw mga tindahan. at ang daming mga police and mga nakabantay na agents ng BOC siguro yun

[alwayz_yummy]

hay hirap talagang magnegosyo dito sa pinas....mapalegal ka man o illegal...unless magbago ng lubusan lahat ng tao sa gobyerno, di tayo aasenso..sila sila nalang kasi,e....mga gahaman!

[flakez]

e bat kaya ung greenhills hindi nila ni raid, or na raid na rin dati pa?

[caloyski5]

nothing new. . before christmas na raid din yung 168. went with my friends a few days after the raid. halos walang laman. hehehe

[ILuvDetailing]

AFAIK na raid din sa Greenhills

[stinkaboy]

goodthing hindi na raid nung december hehehe.

[al_motor]

ni-raid ang 168 nung december. pero ng Bureau of Immigration. i have chinese friends there, most of them would not go to their stores for fear of deportation.