Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez on Wednesday rejected calls for his resignation amid reports that some 2,000 container vans from the Port of Manila had gone missing while en route to Batangas, resulting in revenue losses of more than P240 million.
In a statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief described the calls for his removal from office as “unjust and undeserved.”
“Some people had lost sight of the fact that it was I who uncovered the missing container scam and that I had ordered the concerned officials of the bureau to explain the discrepancy in the transshipment data long before the start of the congressional inquiry on this matter,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said he appreciated the comment of Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, who said he did not share the view that Alvarez should be removed from office.
“It is good that we now hear about such smuggling activities, although belated. It was Commissioner Alvarez who brought this matter out instead of sweeping it under the rug. We should give him credit for such. He has ordered a thorough investigation, a copy of the initial results of which has been furnished our committee,” Fariñas had said.
Alvarez added that his determination to stamp out smuggling and corruption at the BOC had remained strong despite serious obstacles.
He said his crusade to make smuggling unprofitable had led to the filing of 42 smuggling cases in the last 13 months with claims totaling P53 billion.
This was in compliance with President Aquino’s instruction for the BOC to file at least one smuggling case every two weeks, he said.
“In between these fortnightly filings, our agency’s revitalized campaign against smuggling had resulted in the seizure of more than P2 billion worth of assorted commodities that were either misdeclared, undervalued or misclassified by their importers,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez said he believed the problem of the missing containers in Batangas, which the House of Representatives was investigating, could just be the tip of the iceberg.
He said he had ordered the BOC’s Post-Entry Audit Group (PEAG) to conduct a nationwide audit of all transshipments covering prior years.
As a permanent solution to this problem, Alvarez said he had ordered a ban on transshipment except those bound for export processing zones and customs bonded warehouses.
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali has accused BOC’s deputy commissioner Gregorio Chavez of being one of the protectors of the alleged smuggler behind the missing container vans.
But Chavez has vehemently denied Umali’s accusation.