Manila- A Philippine anti-smuggling agency has filed criminal charges against two Taiwanese businessmen and four Filipinos for allegedly mutilating peso coins to extract their bronze contents, an official said Tuesday.

Antonio Villar Jr, head of the Philippine Anti-Smuggling Group, said the extracted bronze contents were then used by the suspects' company in the manufacture of assorted plumbing fixtures and accessories.

Villar identified the Taiwan businessmen as Ming Tsun Liang and Jui Chung Liang, while the four Filipinos were directors of the Ming Tsun Liang Manufacturing Corp.

He said anti-smuggling operatives raided the firm's manufacturing plant in Caloocan City in metropolitan Manila two months ago and seized several sacks of mangled and burned local coins.

The raiding team also seized plumbing accessories, which the central bank confirmed were made of bronze extracted from peso coins, Villar added.

Villar said a similar case was filed against Tsun Liang and his accomplices three years ago when the company was still operating out of Cavite province, just south of Manila, but they were acquitted.

"This time, I hope the court would find them guilty," he said.

Local coins were also being smuggled out of the country for their copper and nickel contents.

Villar said the agency recently seized 30 million pesos (640,000 dollars) worth of coins allegedly to be exported to South Korea by a syndicate. The extracted copper and nickel would be used in manufacturing assorted electronics spare parts. (dpa)