The Bureau of Customs (BOC) asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) against 13 people facing criminal complaints over alleged agricultural smuggling, allowing immigration authorities to monitor their international travel while the cases are investigated.
Under Philippine immigration rules, the DOJ issues an ILBO, not the Bureau of Immigration (BI). The BI implements the order by monitoring the subject’s movements and travel. The DOJ decides whether to act on the request.
An ILBO is essentially a travel-monitoring and information-gathering mechanism. It instructs immigration officers to closely monitor the travel of subjects named in the order and report relevant movements or attempted departures to the DOJ and the requesting agency. The BI has repeatedly emphasized that an ILBO, by itself, does not prohibit a person from leaving the Philippines.
BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno on Tuesday made the request after the agency filed six criminal complaints before the DOJ over shipments consigned to Berches Consumer Goods Trading.
The shipments, which arrived in June 2025, were declared as “chicken lollipops” but contained 15,029 sacks of fresh white onions and 2,164 boxes of fresh carrots. The agricultural products also lacked the required Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry, according to the BOC.
The 13 individuals covered by the requested ILBO include the importer’s owner and representatives, a licensed customs broker, and nine BOC officials and employees allegedly linked to the shipments.
Nepomuceno said the BOC would pursue everyone found to have participated in the alleged scheme, including those who may have facilitated the shipments from within or outside the agency.
“We will use every legal measure available to hold all those responsible accountable,” Nepomuceno said.
Customs asked BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado to monitor the subjects’ international travel and help ensure their availability for the ongoing investigation and any subsequent proceedings, subject to applicable laws and regulations.
The agency also told the BI that the list could expand if investigators identify other individuals connected to the shipments.
The request comes as the BOC steps up its campaign against agricultural smuggling and alleged insider involvement. As of Sept. 1, the bureau had listed 24 agricultural-smuggling cases among its criminal complaints filed with the DOJ since 2025.
