Panelo says what Customs needs is spiritual cleansing

As Halloween draws near, Malacañang said that, perhaps, what is required in the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is spiritual cleansing to purge the “corrupted spirits haunting the agency.”

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after President Duterte announced that he is assigning former Army chief Leonardo “Jagger” Guerrero to head the agency, and that he is axing all BOC executives following the shabu smuggling incident in August.

In a radio interview Friday, Panelo said that maybe a spiritual intervention is now necessary to change the attitude of the people inside the BOC.

“Ang problema kasi nasa tao eh. Siguro we have to… siguro kailangan mag-spiritual ang mga taong iyan (The problem is with the people. Perhaps, the people there need to undergo spiritual cleansing),” he said.

“I think everyone in this country needs internal transformation. Because if you are spiritually transformed, you will think twice about doing something bad because you are your own enemy,” he added in Filipino.

“Kasi kung aasahan mo lang iyong sistema, hindi na magbabago (Because if you will just rely on the system, nothing will change),” he continued.

Praises for Guerrero Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday heaped praises on Guerrero as he prepares to take on the reins of the BOC.

A graduate of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Maharlika Class of 1984, Guerrero served as the 49th chief of staff of the AFP and administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) until the President announced his appointment as Customs chief last Thursday.

“I am very confident that he will do good. He is an honest, intelligent and very comptent man,” said AFP Chief of Staff General Carlito Galvez Jr. when asked about Guerrero’s appointment at BOC.

Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr., PNP spokesperson, also welcomed the appointment of Guerrero, a senior officer of PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde in the PMA.

“I’m sure his leadership and management skills coupled with his experience in security sector reform will help, in no small measure, in his monumental task of reforming the Bureau,” Durana said.

For Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, he said he expects the retired general to do a great job even if he finds his hands full, given the corruption that has been institutionalized within the bureau.

“He would do a great job if given the leeway to do his job,” Lorenzana said. “The problem in BOC, according to insiders, is the entrenched interest groups. Corruption, they said, is institutionalized within the bureau. If you play by their rules you last. If not, they will do something to ease you out like what happened to my classmate Sid Lapeña.” (With reports from Martin A. Sadongdong and Francis T. Wakefield)