THE ongoing tiff between the Bureau of Customs (BOC) headed by its Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) led by Director General Aaron Aquino over several magnetic lifters claimed to have contained the illegal drug, “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride), seemed to have gone the way of the bizarre and absurd with the BOC commissioner suggesting that the dispute between the two government agencies may have been the handiwork of illegal drug syndicates out to undermine President Duterte’s war on drugs.
Now where in the heck is the logic in that assumption? Is it possible that the drug syndicates deliberately baited both agencies into the squabble by putting into jeopardy billions of pesos of their product in order to guarantee safer operations in the country in the future? Is it possible that these drug syndicates had in mind to create confusion at the BOC and later on at the PDEA to make these entities quarrel and thus distract the attention of the government into their nefarious trade?
This seems to be what BOC Commissioner Lapeña is claiming after he arrived from abroad as an explanation to the controversy surrounding the existence or not of shabu in several magnetic lifters found in Cavite and which went through customs.
What is perplexing is for the BOC commissioner to even contemplate the idea that these drug syndicates have become so sophisticated in their machinations and deception that they can invent and concoct scenarios that would in fact jeopardize their very own illegal industry involving billions of pesos just so the BOC and the PDEA can argue over a certain drugs shipment.
What is more logical and quite disturbing is the expose recently made by Customs Deputy Collector Lourdes Mangaoang regarding the continuing corruption involving officials of the BOC and more particularly the secure passage of contraband and illegal drugs in exchange for financial consideration.
If we are to believe BOC Commissioner Lapeña it is his recent pronouncement that corruption still exists in the agency that he heads although this had been reduced somewhat because of, according to him, tighter monitoring and vigilance in the conduct of operations by the said agency.
But if that is the case shouldn’t the BOC conduct a deeper investigation into the claim made by the PDEA that the magnetic lifters found in Cavite contained illegal drugs as well as the claims being made by one of its own people that the x-rays taken of the magnetic lifters were deliberately darkened to hide and conceal the presence of the drugs inside the said containers. This is the more prudent action to be taken by the BOC nothing more nothing less.
The claim of Lapeña that drug syndicates are behind the spat and misunderstanding between the BOC and the PDEA is a lot of nonsense since the more attention that is given to the controversy the more risk and unwanted attention is directed to the transport of illegal drugs through customs and this is not the way the drug syndicates would want it. What any drug syndicate or criminal gang would want obviously is the fact that their illegal activity remains undetected and not compromised by unwarranted attention by the authorities. The more controversial the affair between the BOC and PDEA becomes the riskier it is for drug syndicates to ship their products through customs because of the present public attention.