CORRUPTION at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) must be a very serious issue that an extreme solution has to be applied. President Duterte, exasperated by the entry of shabu worth billions of pesos through the BOC, relieved the department heads and ordered the military to take over.
The President’s order is based on the presumption that military men are incorruptible. It also implies that the civilian employees are corrupt, although the President said not everyone is so.
When the President assumed office two years ago, he appointed Nicanor Faeldon, a retired military officer, as BOC commissioner. But later, some P6.4 billion worth of shabu slipped into the country. While some of these were confiscated, many believe that the bigger bulk of the shabu are now sold in the streets.
Because of the grave issues against Faeldon, who even underwent a Senate inquiry and was detained for refusing to answer questions from the senators, he was replaced by Isidro Lapeña, also a retired military officer. He was the former head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
There were no corruption issues against Lapeña. But some P11 billion worth of shabu, believed to be the biggest ever shipment to the country, slipped through the Manila International Container Port (MICP). The illegal drug syndicate used the magnetic lifters in shipping the illegal drugs from China.
In the Oct. 24 Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Rep. Romeo Acop said Lapeña covered for the incompetent Customs people. He did not believe, however, that he was shielding illegal drug syndicates. Sen. Richard Gordon even urged Lapeña to replace the incompetent personnel as they would put him in trouble.
But before the Senate could close the inquiry, President Duterte ordered Rey Leonardo Guerrero, who was the administrator of Marina and a former Armed Forces chief-of-staff, to replace Lapeña. The BOC personnel will be replaced by the soldiers and those replaced will be placed on floating status and will report in Malacañang.
Businessmen are worried that the military takeover could stall the release of imported goods especially since more importations happen during the Christmas season. Sen. Chiz Escudero said the military takeover is unconstitutional since the President can only call on the military to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.
But Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara said the takeover does not violate the civilian supremacy rule. “Putting the Bureau of Customs under the watchful eye of the AFP is a temporary measure to ensure that massive entry of illegal drugs, which threatens public safety, is immediately stopped,” he noted.
Could the military men stop the corruption at the BOC? That remains to be seen. All we can do is hope for the best. Remember that the past two commissioners were retired military officers and graduates of the Philippine Military Academy but they failed to prevent the entry of illegal drugs.
That would not have happened without the collusion by key personnel at the BOC and the smugglers. And the latter must be so influential that Customs personnel could perhaps not say no to them. It’s about time investigators from the police or the National Bureau of Investigation unmasked the culprits, whoever they are.