Eaten by the system

October 27, 2018 Opinion Sideglance

President Rodrigo Duterte made the right decision in removing Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña from the corruption ridden Bureau of Customs before the credibility and integrity of the latter is further eroded by the drug mess that happened recently.

What is clear is that barely several months in the office Lapeña suffered the same predicament as his predecessor former customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon who also resigned after a huge shipment of shabu slipped past the customs bureau.

It now appears that there is truth in the report that the BOC is totally and absolutely corruption laden and that there is an entrenched syndicate in that agency composed of customs officials, other government authorities and civilians who run the agency like they own it. And that no matter who is appointed to head the BOC the said syndicate will always operate with impunity and will always have the ways and means to remove whoever is appointed by the President to lead that office such as what happened to Faeldon and Lapeña.

If the President intends to successfully wage his war on drugs against the very drug syndicates themselves who transport shabu almost regularly through the customs bureau then this is the right time to implement iron clad regulations and measures to insure that what passes through customs are only legitimate items of commerce.

Take for instance the massive shipment of goods unloaded from the cargo holds of massive ships, perhaps the government can find a way of inspecting all of these goods destined for the country before it passes through customs or even before it reaches our ports. The Philippine Navy which of late has been rehabilitated somewhat can be assigned to conduct patrols as well as boarding and searches of ships carrying goods for the Philippines. This way contraband and other illegal products will be intercepted early on and while they are still in transit. Vigilance is the name of the game and the country and enlist the help of its neighbors in South East Asia particularly those also affected by illegal drugs to coordinate their efforts and unite in the campaign to prevent the entry into their shores of contraband materials and products.

The proposal for the imposition of the death penalty for serious drug offenses should also be considered by Congress and the State sanctioned death of drug lords and those who transport or make shabu that is worth billions of pesos be given top priority.

As to the BOC the President in his latest pronouncement called for a “freeze” of all department heads and other top officials and employees of the agency subsequent to his sacking of Lapeña as customs head. As to what he really meant by the word freeze is anybody’s guess but the President is apparently peeved and insulted that despite his honest effort to cleanse the agency of bad eggs it would now appear that the syndicate behind the huge shipments of shabu to the country is much more powerful than originally thought.

I recall the words of an acquaintance who was formerly with the BOC who said that corruption in the bureau is endemic and everybody from the top leadership down to the janitor and security guard receives a share from the illegal profits to be made in allowing the passage and transit into the country of contraband such as illegal drugs.

This I believe is the biggest problem of the President right now in his war on drugs. How to stop illegal drugs from entering the country through the BOC is the challenge that must be overcome before President Digong ends his term.