That on or about June 2005 to December 2007, in Manila City, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above named accused, in conspiracy with one another, made forty (40) unlawful importations of 255, 870 pieces of finished printed bet slips and 205, 200 rolls of finished thermal papers from Australia valued at approximately One Million Two Hundred Forty Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty US Dollars & Fourteen Cents (US$1,240,880.14), and caused the removal of said imported articles from the Clark Special Economic Zone and delivery thereof to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Offices without payment of its corresponding duties and taxes estimated at around Fifteen Million Nine Hundred Seventeen Thousand Six Hundred Eleven Pesos and Eighty Three Cents (Php15,917,611.83) in violation of Section 3601 in relation to Sections 2530 and 101 paragraph (f) of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines to the damage and prejudice of herein complainant.
CONTRARY TO LAW.8
Considering that an Entry of Judgment was already issued in this case on September 23, 2009, no Motion for Reconsideration of the Resolution dated September 3, 2009 having been filedby State Prosecutor Rohairah Lao-Tamano of the Department of Justice; the "Motion for Reconsideration of the Resolution dated 3 September 2009" filed on September 22, 2009 by Atty. Christopher F.C. Bolastig of the Bureau of Customs is NOTED, without action.
SO ORDERED.16 (emphasis partly in the original and partly supplied)
Endnotes:
1 Section 3601. Unlawful Importation. - Any person who shall fraudulently import or bring into the Philippines, or assist in so doing, any article, contrary to law, or shall receive, conceal, buy, sell or in any manner facilitate the transportation, concealment, or sale of such article after importation, knowing the same to be have been imported contrary to law shall be guilty of smuggling and shall be punished with:
x x x x
In applying the above scale of penalties, if the offender is an alien and the prescribed penalty is not death, he shall be deported after serving the sentence without further proceedings for deportation. If the offender is a government official or employee, the penalty shall be the maximum as hereinabove prescribed and the offender shall suffer an additional penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office, to vote and to participate in any public election.
When upon trial for violation of this section, the defendant is shown to have had possession of the article in question, possession shall be deemed sufficient evidence to authorize conviction unless the defendant shall explain the possession to the satisfaction of the court: Provided, however, That the payment of the tax due after apprehension shall not constitute a valid defense in any prosecution under this section.
2 Section 2530. Property Subject to Forfeiture under Tariff and Customs Laws - Any vehicle, vessel or aircraft, cargo, article and other objects shall, under the following conditions be subject to forfeiture:
x x x x
(f) Any article the importation or exportation of which is effected or attempted contrary to law, or any article of prohibited importation or exportation, and all other articles which, in the opinion of the Collector, have been used, are or were entered to be used as instruments in the importation of exportation of the former:
(l) Any article sought to be imported or exported:
x x x x
5. Through any other practice or device contrary to law by means of which such article was entered through a customhouse to the prejudice of the government.
3 Section 101. Prohibited Importations. - The importation into the Philippines of the following articles is prohibited:
x x x x
(f) Lottery and sweepstakes tickets except those authorized by the Philippine Government, advertisements thereof and list of drawings therein.
4 Otherwise known as the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.
5 Rollo, pp. 375-386.
6 Id. at 394-413.
7 The Court of Tax Appeals Second Division is composed of Associate Justices Juanito C. Castañeda (Chairperson), Erlinda P. Uy and Olga Palanca-Enriquez.
8 Rollo, pp. 387-388.
9 Id. at 414-418.
10 Id. at 424-425.
11 Id. at 426-462.
12 Id. at 463-469.
13 Id. at 470-473.
14 Id. at 27-38.
15 Ibid.
16 Id. at 40.
17 Id. at 2-24.
18 Webb v. De Leon, G.R. No. 121234, August 23, 1995, 247 SCRA 652, 685.
19 Rules of Court, Rule 110, Sec. 5.
20 Ong v. Genio, G.R. No. 182336, December 23, 2009, 609 SCRA 188, 194.
21 Citing Section 35 (1), Chapter 12, Title III, Book IV of the Administrative Code of 1987.