By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – Heads will roll should members of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are found complicit in the attempted resale of P270 million worth of seized smuggled cigarettes from Capas, Tarlac, Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio warned over the weekend.
Rubio had ordered an immediate investigation by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) and pledged full cooperation with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“I already instructed the Intelligence Group’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service to look into this matter and report to me immediately. The NBI has our full cooperation and I promise that anyone found involved in this will be held accountable. Heads will roll,” Rubio said in a statement Saturday.
The smuggled cigarettes, seized at the Port of Subic between July 2021 and June 2022, were consigned to Hongcim International Corp. and Proline Logistics Philippines Inc.
They items were abandoned and referred for disposal in 2023.
An alleged illegal resale attempt was suspected “during a shift change for ACDU (Auction and Cargo Disposal Unit), ESS (Enforcement and Security Service), and CIIS Port of Subic Customs personnel guarding the condemnation process.”
The BOC confirmed Hazchem North as the disposal firm, whose owner is now under investigation.
“We will not tolerate corruption within our ranks. If insiders are involved, they will face the full force of the law,” Rubio vowed. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
