Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago filed a resolution Monday that seeks a Senate investigation on the Bureau of Customs over the alleged smuggling of melamine-tainted milk and other food products into the country.

Santiago made the call after health officials raised concerns that Chinese-made milk products contaminated with melamine were smuggled goods.

Last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said there were indications that Greenfood Yili Fresh Milk and Mengniu Original Drink Milk -- the two products that tested positive for melamine -- were smuggled because the markings on their boxes were "in Chinese characters."

"This clearly shows that the milk powder products from China were smuggled because the tins had Chinese character written on them," Santiago said.

She noted that under the Consumer Act of 1992, imported products must have a "certification of Philippine standards" that the Bureau of Food and Drugs had was allowing their sale.

"If the product had no seal and if it had foreign characters written on it, clearly, that's smuggled. That's why smugglers of contaminated products should be arrested immediately," the senator said.

Santiago, whose husband was once Customs deputy commissioner, said the alleged smuggling of melamin-tainted products was conceivably part of a reported "network at the bureau."

"Based on my understanding, when you import something, you don't do it on piece by piece basis. Instead, you put it in a large container van. According to my information, whatever is in the van -- be it people, ghosts, flying saucer from an alien planet -- is not inspected. They (Customs officials) do not open the van, you just pay them, let's say P20,000 per van," she said.

Santiago said that after the Senate identifies the culprits in the bureau for the smuggling of melamine-tainted milk, it should refer the matter to the Ombudsman for prosecution and dismissal of those involved.

At the same time, Santiago said the senate should immediately approve her Senate Bill 2074 that seeks to establish a comprehensive program to ensure the safety of food products intended for human consumption.