The Justice Department on Wednesday vowed to launch a relentless campaign against Batangas-based 'paihi' or petrol pilferage syndicate that has cornered a multi-billion peso black market for smuggled petroleum products.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Remulla said the scheme has resulted in billions of pesos in revenue loss for the government.
"We must study this because the 'paihi' operation harms our nation's interest. Our tax collection efforts are taking a hit because of oil pilferage and smuggling syndicates," Remulla said during the Kapihan sa DOJ forum.
"Paihi" is the slang for stealing fuel while in transit to be illegally resold. Unscrupulous oil company workers initially applied it to transfer fuel truck contents to the side of the road.
Remulla said the current "path" schemes employed by the syndicate involve the transfer of oil between ships at sea, escaping scrutiny by customs inspectors, and one that involves bulk suppliers of oil.
In these schemes, he said, the syndicate siphons off a certain percentage of the oil and then passes it to the public to recover their system's loss.
"I think government revenue losses reach around a hundred billion pesos due to these syndicates involved in fuel pilferage," Remulla said, citing a meeting with Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.
He said the Bataan Oil Spill Inter-Agency Investigation is looking into the possibility that the three vessels behind the oil spill last month in Bataan may be involved in the scheme.
Remulla said he has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to address the "paihi" problem "once and for all."
"The Batangas syndicate is quite violent. Many have died from their operations. They kill those who oppose them," he said.
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