THE Bureau of Customs is going after warehouses in Bulacan suspected of storing imported goods without paying the correct duties and taxes with an estimated value of P5.5 billion.

In a statement on Friday, Customs chief Bienvenido Rubio said they issued a Letter of Authority (LoA) to warehouses in Meycauayan, Bulacan, where they found imported cigarettes worth P500 million and P5 billion worth of counterfeit items, including gadgets, devices and garments.

After discovering the imported goods, Rubio said that agents temporarily secured the warehouse entrances and exits with padlocks and seals.

The warehouse owners and operators were given 15 days from the issuance of the LoA to submit documents proving that the goods were legally imported and that the correct duties and taxes were paid, as required under Section 224 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

Rubio said that they remain "committed [to] protecting the country's borders and upholding the law by preventing the entry and distribution of illicit and counterfeit goods."

Agents from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP), along with operatives from the Enforcement and Security Service-MICP, representatives from the Bureau's Action Team Against Smugglers, the Philippine Coast Guard-Task Force Aduana and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, with additional support from the Bulacan Police Provincial Office and local barangay officials, conducted the inspection.