Customs exec killed; chief tells peers to help probers

The head of the Bureau of Customs has ordered its personnel to cooperate with the investigators looking into the killing of BOC Deputy Commissioner Arturo Lachica, who was shot dead while traveling in a car with two aides in Quezon City Thursday night.

Calling the ambush an “isolated incident,” BOC Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon said he would rather not speculate as to the motive behind the attack on Lachica, a 58-year-old lawyer and certified public accountant whose key functions included filing cases against smugglers.

“We can speculate on a thousand reasons but let’s leave it to the investigators,” the BOC chief said in a press briefing on Friday. “I have instructed both our intelligence and enforcement units to assist and provide open and full support to investigating agencies.”

“He has not mentioned anything to me about any threat. Yesterday we had a conference and we were together for four hours. He was very active in our roadmap discussions.”

Faeldon ordered ports across the country to lower Philippine flags at half-staff as a sign of mourning.

Joining the BOC in July 2014, Lachica was designated deputy commissioner for the internal administration group (IAG) by then President Benigno Aquino III.

In July 2015, he was named deputy commissioner for the revenue collection monitoring group and became active in filing cases against smugglers and those involved in illegal or misdeclared imports.

When Faeldon took over as BOC chief in July this year, Lachica was again named IAG deputy commissioner.

According to Faeldon, Lachica chaired the agency’s bids and awards committee and also handled administrative, legal and personnel management duties.

Supt. Aquino Olivar, commander of the Manila Police District’s Sampaloc station, said Lachica was in a black Toyota Altis with driver Romulo Delima and bodyguard Ramon Hernandez when attacked on their way to Quezon City around 6:40 p.m.

A man wearing a mask approached the car while it was stuck in traffic on España Boulevard near the corner of Kundiman Street and fired several times at the vehicle from the front passenger side, the official said. The shooter then casually walked away and joined another man waiting on a motorbike.

Delima, who sat next to the driver, was grazed by a bullet in the back while Lachica, who was in the backseat, was hit twice in the chest. The BOC official was brought to United Doctors Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 7:45 p.m.—WITH A REPORT FROM RADYO INQUIRER