Solon urges ‘deep’ probe of Customs building fire

The Bureau of Customs building at the Port Area of Manila caught fire on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. (Photo from the Bureau of Customs)

Misamis Oriental Rep. Juliet Uy urged on Saturday the Department of the Interior and Local Government to conduct a “thorough, meticulous and scientific” investigation into the Thursday night blaze that hit the Bureau of Customs head office at the Port Area in Manila.

In a statement, Uy urged Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to assign the best arson investigators of the Bureau of Fire Protection to probe the fire.

“Given the notoriety of the Bureau of Customs for graft and corruption, it is understandable for the public to be skeptical about the cause of the fire that has razed the offices of the Bureau of Customs at the Manila Bay Port Area,” she said.

Uy, a member of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, said she was concerned about the operations of the BOC.

“I hope there will be little or minimal disruptions because disruptions at the Port Area can have ripple effects involving the business sector and the flow of goods in and out of the Manila Bay harbor,” she said.

With the damage at the BOC office, some of its operations could be transferred to the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) or, if necessary, some shipments could be diverted to Subic Bay in Zambales or to the Batangas Port, she said. /atm