MANILA: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) seized around PHP3 million worth of undocumented used clothes, or ukay-ukay, at Matnog Port in Sorsogon in an inspection Thursday.
In a report on Friday, the PCG said a paneling inspection by its K9 team noticed the bundles of used clothes on board a vehicle.
‘Upon inquiry, the driver failed to present pertinent documents relative to the legality of the said items,’ it said.
The vehicle’s cargo was confiscated as the driver violated Republic Act (RA) No. 4653 or “an act to safeguard the health of the people and maintain the dignity of the nation by declaring it a national policy to prohibit the importation of textile articles commonly known as used clothing and rags.”
The seized goods were turned over to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for further investigation and proper disposition.
RA 4653 was signed into law on June 17, 1966, and made it illegal to import used clothing and rags into the country with exceptions defined in Section 105 of RA 1937 or “An act to revise
and codify the tariff and customs laws of the Philippines”.
Since then, several lawmakers have made attempts to regulate and legalize the importation of used clothes as it has become part of Filipino culture, with the latest Senate Bill No. 1778 filed in February last year by Senator Raffy Tulfo and aims to repeal RA 4653.
Source: Philippines News Agency