Unwritten law

There seems to be a pattern in the ambush by armed men of some Bureau of Customs (BOC) people.

The latest fatality was Gil Cua Manlapaz, 47, an information technology operator, who was shot dead inside his car, which was parked near his house at the corner of Pedro Gil and Pasig Line streets, Manila.

The perpetrator of the murder was a lone man on a motorcycle, obviously a professional hired gun.

Manlapaz was the fourth customs employee to be attacked since December last year.

On Jan. 14, Ryan Balite Difuntorum, 41, assistant section chief and principal examiner, was shot by a motorcycle-riding assailant at a traffic red light in Quezon City.

Difuntorum survived the attack.

On Jan. 7, BOC senior appraiser Eudes Nerpio was shot dead in his car in Binondo, Manila. His female companion was unharmed.
Nerpio was also shot by a lone gunman who drove away on a motorcycle.

Another senior customs official, Melvin Tan, survived an assassination attempt in December last year.

The victims were in the list of corrupt customs employees submitted by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) to BOC Commissioner Leonardo Guerrero.

Others in the list, reportedly ignored by Guerrero, include a lawyer, seven customs operations officers, an intelligence agent, two customs operations officers, a special agent and a security guard.

The highest BOC official, Deputy Commissioner Teddy Raval, was attacked when a grenade was thrown outside his home in Quezon City.

Investigators may probably want to look at two angles: feud or rivalry within the customs bureau or a deal with players (importers or brokers) gone sour.

I’m not particularly keen on having customs police investigators enter the picture because all they’re interested in is how much money they might get from their findings, if any.

Investigators from the Philippine National Police (PNP) or National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should probably dig into the hidden wealth – bank accounts, property, etc. – of the victims.

How much were the salaries of the victims?

Who were their possible enemies within the bureau or among the people dealing with customs as importers or brokers?

Years ago, a customs official survived an ambush which was masterminded by a colleague who, as investigation later showed, was envious of the money his would-be victim was earning from brokers and importers.

The brother of the customs official, who was a multimillionaire, hired professional gunmen who killed the ambush mastermind months later.

Were the ambush victims still probably making it hard for people transacting business with customs, even after they were given their “dues?”

There’s an unwritten law among corrupt customs people and citizens they deal with: After one has received their part of the “dirty money,” they should never make it harder for the briber by asking for more.

Doing so would make one a victim of an ambush outside the customs zone.

Methinks that’s also an unwritten law among corrupt officials and employers in other regulatory or law enforcement agencies.

*      *      *

Makati Regional Trial Court judge Andres Soriano, who’s handling the rehabilitation case of the bankrupt Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP), just sits on his butt while the idle paper plant is being plundered by thieves for scrap.

It seems Soriano – who has no relation to the firm’s original owner, Andres Soriano Jr., who also used to own San Miguel Corp. – doesn’t want to involve himself in the massive theft within the contested property because it’s still under litigation.

The more the good judge should take care of PICOP because it’s under his care while the banks and other creditors are going after the company.

All the good judge has to do is order Lt. Col. Michael Lozada, chief of police of Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, to prevent further looting of the PICOP property, but is not doing so.

The PICOP complex is located within Bislig with a 150,000-hectare forest in the background. The forest was the source of pulp and made into paper.

Even Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat, police director of Region 13, based in Butuan City, has ordered a hands-off policy in the looting at PICOP.
Because Judge Soriano and the local police are looking the other way, looters continue with their nefarious activity of cutting up machines and heavy equipment to be sold to scrap buyers.

If the plunder continues, the banks and other creditors would have nothing left.

I remember Soriano very well. He was the Bulacan judge who convicted Jeff Quesada, a quadriplegic, wrongly charged with rape, and sentenced to life in prison years ago.

A quadriplegic is a person whose four limbs – arms and legs – are paralyzed and, therefore, is wheelchair-bound.

Quesada can’t even go to the toilet without being assisted by two people. When he eats, he is spoon-fed.

Soriano should have discerned that the completely paralyzed Quesada was highly incapable of rape.

I recalled Quesada’s rape conviction by Soriano to help in knowing how this judge decides cases.

An interesting postscript was that president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pardoned Quesada. My program, Isumbong kay Tulfo, lobbied for his release.

*      *      *

The country has allowed foreign tourists into the country as long as they show tests that they’re negative for COVID-19.

Most of these tourists will go to Boracay island in Aklan, because of its white sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters and world-class facilities for foreigners.

Boracay, once considered a cesspool of garbage, has been rehabilitated to world-class vacation place, thanks to the Duterte administration.

Credit should go to Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu, who was the Boracay rehabilitation czar.

The former Armed Forces chief of staff has returned the island resort to its pristine beauty.

That was no mean accomplishment.