P.3 million reward up for information on BOC exec’s ambush

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs has offered a P300,000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest of the person behind the ambush of a BOC officer at the Port of Manila.

The victim, whose identity was withheld, was wounded after an unidentified assailant on a motorcycle fired at him in Barangay 466, Sampaloc, Manila on Jan. 14.

Police said based on closed-circuit television footage, the victim was in his car when the suspect fired at him through the window.

BOC Assistant Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla expressed alarm over the recent incidents of ambush of Customs personnel.

Maronilla said this is the third time that a BOC employee was ambushed.

The first two employees were being investigated for their alleged involvement in corruption in the agency, the BOC said.

Last December, an officer from the office of the Customs commissioner survived an ambush in Manila.

Another BOC officer from the Manila International Container Port died after he was waylaid on Jan. 7.

“We are alarmed by these incidents. We have ordered BOC personnel to take the necessary precautions,” Maronilla said.

He said they have asked the help of the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and Armed Forces to look into the ambuscades.

Maronilla said they have yet to establish if the three incidents were connected.