Duterte orders probe of missing smuggled rice; two Customs officials suspended

Two Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials have been suspended pending an investigation ordered by a “visibly upset” President Duterte on the missing 23,015 sacks of smuggled rice in Zamboanga City, Malacañang

announced Thursday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Zamboanga District Collector Lyceo Martinez and Customs police district commander Filomeno Salazar have been placed on “administrative relief” by Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Isidro Lapeña.

“The President was visibly upset with the missing 23,015 sacks of apprehended smuggled rice in Zamboanga City,” Roque said during a Palace press briefing.

“The President has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation of this incident and that instructions were given for both NFA (National Food Authority) OIC (officer-in-charge) and Customs commissioner to immediately place on preventive suspension individuals who may be part of this scheme,” he added.

Roque said the two concerned officials were suspended so they cannot “tamper with evidence and cannot influence the investigation.”

“I have recommended the administrative relief of the collector of Zamboanga as well as the district supervisor of the Enforcement and Security Service in that area as the investigation is being conducted,” Lapeña said Thursday.

Martinez will be reassigned to the Customs Monitoring Unit.

The BOC chief said the administrative relief is ordered against an official on the higher office that is subject to investigation “so that they would not necessarily influence the conduct of investigation.”

“I have directed an investigation of that incident done by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service. In fact, they are there right now since Monday night,” he said.

“We have some results of course, the collector of Zamboanga has done initial actions there when he discovered this incident and have reported the recovery of the part of that missing sacks of rice and are now guarded by authorized personnel,” the commissioner added.

Based on a report from Lapeña, Roque said the customs bureau has deployed a team to Zamboanga to investigate how the smuggled rice were taken from the government warehouse.

Around 18, 000 sacks of rice were already recovered, out of an estimated 23,000 sacks of rice, in warehouses in Tetuan, Suterville, and Kasanyagan in Zamboanga City. It was believed that the rice from Malaysia were taken by an unidentified group before it went missing.

Roque admitted that the President was really angry at how the smuggled rice seized by authorities were lost at the government warehouse. “It's incredible. Obviously it cannot be done in a clandestine manner. Everyone must have seen how these sacks were taken,” he said.

Roque said he has yet to receive a progress report from the NFA on steps to address the missing sacks of rice.

He admitted that some BOC and NFA officials could be held liable for the missing smuggled rice.

“Investigation is ongoing but I think it is obvious because both agencies have some jurisdiction over apprehended smuggled rice that both officials of customs and NFA probably have liability for this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lapeña said the BOC’s one-strike policy will be enforced against Manila International Container Port District Collector Balmyrson Valdez, Port of Manila District Collector Dino Austria, and Port of Surigao District Collector Ma. Liza Sebastian for failure to hit the September collection target.

Lapeñad declined to name their replacement pending approval of the Finance secretary.