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Sen. Miriam Santiago once likened Meralco to the Bureau of
Customs—the syndicates are so well-entrenched that they would
always hold sway no matter who heads the organization. I recalled
this analogy by Senator Miriam as some sectors are once again
calling for the head of Customs Collector Napoleon Morales because
of the unabated smuggling activities in the country.
A joint hearing on Monday estimated that the
country loses about P142 billion in revenue each year because of
smuggling. Certainly, an operation of such scale should mean the
smugglers have protectors in high places. A few years back, Sen.
Juan Ponce Enrile identified suspected big-time smugglers in a
privileged speech. None of them has been sued. Well, for one thing,
the Bureau of Customs did not even have those persons on its watch
list.
I also remember that Secretary Angelo Reyes once
headed a presidential task force against smuggling. If I remember it
correctly, he made a big splash on his first day by seizing a big
number of contrabands with the help of some soldiers detailed to his
office. And if my memory is really good, Reyes lasted only one day
as anti-smuggling czar. What happened? Did he anger somebody up
there?
Blinders at Customs
Anyway, going back to Monday’s hearing,
Senators Chiz Escudero and JPE were aghast that the Bureau of
Customs had not even suspected that something was amiss when a
shipment from South Korea declared as hand tools were contained in
reefer vans. What was so special about the hand tools that they had
to be refrigerated? The documents of the refrigerated hand tools
were received and approved by 21 offices of the Bureau of Customs.
They must have been of the trusting type because they never raised
an eyebrow on why hand tools should be refrigerated.
Chiz said that the suspicions of Customs people
should have been aroused also by the light weight of the reefer vans
containing the supposed hand tools. But, as I have said, they are
the trusting type and they believe what is told them by importers,
brokers and consolidators.
The shipment was later intercepted by the
Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) headed by Assistant
Secretary Antonio Villar who definitely was not of the trusting type
insofar as customs declarations are concerned. Lo and behold, the
“hand tools” turned out to be onions, whose importation is
highly regulated to protect local growers.
How come customs people never inspected the
reefer vans that contained the onions? A naughty reporter said that
the proper question is not “how come” or “why” but rather,
“how much.” Chiz said that they must have had blinders so they
could not see the obvious. He said that smuggling might be hard to
detect in an archipelago like the Philippines if the contrabands are
merely dropped into the sea by ships and then retrieved later by
divers.
“What I find unacceptable is that the smuggled
goods are passing through Customs!” he said.
Guardian angels?
If the Bureau of Customs could not contain
smuggling, why then are no heads rolling? Is Morales enjoying the
protection of well-placed guardian angels?
“President Arroyo can replace Commissioner
Morales at any time if she wants to. There are many reasons why he
is still in office. But if I am to be kind to her because she is
still tired after arriving from abroad, I’ll say that it is
probably because her choice is between the devil and the deep blue
sea. The replacement of Morales might even be worse,” Chiz said.
Morales said that he had been berated by
President Arroyo a number of times, but he took it as natural for a
“mother” who loves her children.
“The mother must love him very much because
she has already scolded him four or five times,” Villar quipped.
JPE does not believe that President Arroyo is
the godmother of Morales. He also rejected any suggestion that First
Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is the protector of Morales. “How
about a high official from Batangas?” a reporter persisted. JPE
merely smiled.
Unlike others, JPE believes that smuggling at
the Customs could still be contained. He said that when he was
Customs Commissioner, smuggling was greatly reduced because he did
not leave operations completely to his men. He himself directed
which shipment had to be inspected and supervised the closure of
warehouses to make sure they remain closed.
Incidentally, Villar said that most of the
apprehensions of PASG came from tips of Customs people on the
contraband.
“These are the Customs people who are not
within the inner circle of the smuggling syndicates and never
received any ray of sunshine from them,” he said.
efrendanao2003@yahoo.com
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