A group of customs brokers, truckers, importers, and other port users are going on strike on Tuesday to protest the alleged indiscriminate and illegal withholding of cargo by the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).

The protest action dubbed “customs brokers-truckers holiday” will be spearheaded by members of the Professional Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCBAPI), Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP), Visayas-Mindanao Customs Brokers Association (BOCEA), Allied Concerned Truckers’ Owners Organizations (ACTOO), Fruit Imports-Brokers Association Inc., and groups.

According to the strike leaders, the protest action aims to call the PASG’s attention to its illegal impounding over the weekend of hundreds of containerized imported cargoes coming from the Port of Manila and Manila International Container Port (MICP).

They claim that the impounding is without any legal basis as the cargoes are brought to private compounds in various parts of Metro Manila.

But Finance Undersecretary Antonio Villar, PASG chief, justified the impounding as necessary to bolster the government’s drive against smuggling.

Villar said the seized cargoes are held for random verification because of reports that the goods are grossly and fraudulently released by the Bureau of Customs (BoC).