Guerrero, 3 BOC execs deny smuggling claims

CUSTOMS Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, along with three other top officials from the bureau, denied their alleged involvement in agricultural smuggling.

Guerrero said several reforms have been instituted under his watch, helping the agency boost its collection efficiency and stop agricultural smuggling.

This comes after the Senate Committee of the Whole report identified several government officials, including those from BOC, as those allegedly involved in agricultural smuggling.

Apart from Guerrero, among those on the list are: Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Raniel T. Ramiro; Customs Deputy Commissioner Vener S. Baquiran; Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Director Geoffrey Tacio; and, Yasser A. Abbas of Customs Import and Assessment.

“I vehemently deny the accusations against me on my alleged involvement in agricultural smuggling based on a supposed ‘validated’ list,” Guerrero said through a statement. “Law enforcement agencies such as the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police denied the release or submission of any intelligence report from their respective agencies allegedly implicating any BOC official in any smuggling activity.”

The Customs chief said the reforms they put in place enabled them to seize P2.5-billion worth of smuggled agricultural products in various ports nationwide from 2016 to May this year, while a total of 111 criminal cases have been filed before the Department of Justice against unscrupulous stakeholders and 84 importers and customs brokers involved in agricultural smuggling were revoked of their accreditation since 2019.

“We firmly denounce fraudulent importations of agricultural products,” Guerrero said. “[The] BOC remains committed to its mandate of securing the country’s borders against the entry of smuggled agricultural products and other illicit goods.”

Tacio, Baquiran and Ramiro have also separately denied they were involved in smuggling.

“I vehemently deny that I am a coddler of smugglers,” Tacio said. “In fact, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), under my command, has been at the forefront in the drive against agricultural smuggling and continues to be relentless in conducting enforcement operations at the ports, warehouses outside ports, and public markets against smuggled agricultural products.”

For his part, Baquiran called the allegations as “malicious and false,” noting that he and the whole BOC team will not be deterred by these accusations.

Ramiro added multiple attempts have been made to tarnish his name and honor but he said he “rest in the knowledge that the truth will never cease to exist.”

Among the reforms cited by Guerrero include the automation of 82 percent of the 170 processes in the BOC in order to reduce human intervention that provides opportunities for corruption.

As part of the BOC’S anti-smuggling activities, Guerrero said the agency allowed representatives from the Department of Agriculture to take part in the non-intrusive inspection of containers to ensure full transparency in the examination of agricultural products.