Bzzzzz: Customs whistle-blower had 5-year stint at local port; free zone for PDP-Laban in Cebu

SCROLLING DOWN: How Lourdes Villamar-Mangaoang got her title “Iron Lady” of Bureau of Customs. When she was transferred from Cebu, Mayor Osmeña questioned the transfer, suspecting that politicians based in Manila were raising funds for the elections then... Lawyer-environmentalist Ben Cabrido invokes the “spirits of the mountains” in Naga to “guide” the legal team that will wage the P1 billion (not P2 billion) damage suit against Apo Quarry, City of Naga, and three other entities.

* First, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio says Cebu is a free zone for this election season. Let’s watch how this will play out with the mayor’s declaration that her party Hugpong ng Pagbabago supports PDP-Laban bets and she herself backs Duke Frasco as fifth district bet for congressman. Sara appears to have shot down the speculation that Hugpong will field its own candidates against PDP-Laban aspirants.

***

Controversial exit

Few people knew about it, except mostly local business folk who dealt with the Customs, that Lourdes Villamar-Mangaoang -- the whistleblower who alleges that Customs Commissioner Isidro Lopez could be involved in the cover-up of the smuggling of P6.8-billion “shabu” through the port of Manila -- was assigned as district collector in Cebu for five years or so, from October 2013 to September 2018.

And did you know that her exit from Cebu was also controversial, though in a much smaller scale? “Ma’m Des” suspected that the coming elections then had something to do with the effort to remove her from the district. Cebu had been used by some politicians, not based here, as source of campaign funds.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña had questioned why “non-Cebuano politicians were lobbying for the transfer” of Mangaoang. A Freeman story said Robert Go, Central Visayas governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, agreed with Manaoang’s theory.

Mangaoang succeeded Paul Alcazaren and was replaced by Ricardo Belmonte.

***

Title explained: ‘Iron Lady’

Lourdes Mangaoang, former X-ray chief of Customs, testified before the Senate last September 26, saying BOC failed to follow SOPs in scanning four magnetic lifters believed to be previously packed with shabu. Last Friday, Mangaoang, now deputy customs collector, alleged that Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena knew as early as May about the drug smuggling plan but “took no steps to foil” it.

Mangaoang earned the moniker as “Iron Lady” of the Bureau of Customs, not in Cebu City but in Cagayan de Oro City whose press gave her the title.

“She is not feisty. She talks and acts tough only when the issues of honor and principle are stake,” said a Philstar.com article from Manila in 2010.

She got little press in Cebu except on her entry and exit, when she exchanged heated words with the customs collector who was initially reported to take her place but did not. No scandals erupted during her stint or she lay low here or the local media was not paying attention.

***

Who is invoked: mountain spirits

In talking about the P1 billion (not P2 billion as earlier reported) damage lawsuit that lawyer, environmentalist Benjamin Cabrido will file against the Apo Land and Quarry Corp., the City of Naga and three others, he invoked not God but the spirits of the mountain in that city where the landslide occurred.

Cabrido asked that the mountain spirits “guide” his legal team. That would mean the spirits had nothing to do with the tragedy. It was the people of the four entities he is suing who were at fault, according to their line of offense.

***

Tell us about it.

[paseares@gmail.com]