100 more Customs men being probed — official

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from the more than 50 officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) suspected of corruption, more than 100 others are being probed.

Customs Associate Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla said they are now looking into the activities of 100 more personnel in the agency.

Maronilla made the admission after President Duterte announced last Thursday that 100 more personnel might be relieved from their posts for alleged corrupt practices.

“Sixty-four of them will be terminated next week, and 100 are coming,” the President said.

Maronilla confirmed there are “preliminary discussions” on the status of the 100 Customs personnel.

In the event the President orders them relieved or suspended, Maronilla said it would not affect the agency’s operations. 

“Internal administration is prepared for these kind of contingencies and we assure the public that operations of BOC will continue to remain normal,” he said. 

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is also stepping in to the probe.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday instructed the NBI to conduct a case build up.

The Office of the Ombudsman is also reportedly conducting its own investigation and may place these erring BOC officials and personnel, who are already on floating status, under preventive suspension. 

Ombudsman Samuel Martires said he is just waiting for the initial findings of the panel that they created last Tuesday before he decides if he would issue a suspension order against them.

Maronilla assured the Office of the Ombudsman of the BOC’s cooperation in its probe. 

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs Employees Association (BOCEA) issued a statement last Friday afternoon saying that the list of the 52 officials and personnel that was given to the President only contained the names of those who have already retired or died, while others were only facing minor offenses. 

“Sadly, the list given to the President contains employees who are retired and dead already. Some are only charge with insubordination, purely administrative matters. There were also cases already dismissed and for dismissal due to lack of sufficient evidence to sustain the charges,” BOCEA said.

The employees’ group also said that while their organization is one with the Duterte administration’s campaign against corruption, it slammed the manner by which their colleagues were publicly shamed and that they were denied their right of presumption of innocence.  

It said, “Their names and faces were published and shown in social media; forever destroying their reputations and gravely affecting their families without respect to their rights to presumption of innocence and due process.