Narco-politics and crooks

The signs are disturbing, to say the least. But the seeming impunity with which tons of deadly shabu being smuggled into our country one after the other is giving us fears of resurging narco-politics in our midst. With the next presidential election in May 2028 just around the corner, we cannot help but become worried over suspected fund-raising activities by unscrupulous politicians and their illegal drugs cartel patrons.

Just a month ago, authorities in Laos intercepted a massive drug trafficking operation at Luang Prabang International Airport where they seized 521 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (shabu) valued at P3.54 billion. The illegal cargo was stashed inside 21 suitcases and was about to be loaded onto a private chartered jet bound for Manila last Oct. 1. 

The use of “maletas” or suitcases brings to mind how billions of Philippine pesos were delivered to condo offices, houses and mancaves purportedly paid to certain politicians. Many of them were implicated in the “maleta-full” of kickbacks from government-funded flood control projects.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) expanded the investigations to track down possible high-level domestic distribution networks in our country.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla tagged Sultan Edrieza H. Nasser Rimbang, a former Bangsamoro Parliament member, as the suspected main financier of the P3.5-billion smuggling attempt. Rimbang has publicly denied the allegations but did not attend last Friday the preliminary investigation by PDEA. 

 Then on Oct. 6, the PDEA discovered an abandoned shipping container at the Manila North Harbor under Customs’ jurisdiction. That cargo – which also originated from Laos and traveled through Vietnam and Hong Kong – contained another 200 kilos of shabu worth P1.36 billion. Neatly packed shabu were found securely hidden inside cardboard boxes and consigned to an addressee in Imus, Cavite – Remulla’s bailiwick – but obviously spurious.    

The latest shabu bust exposed a recurring smuggling corridor that prompted authorities to look into whether a single transnational cartel might be behind both shabu shipments. Every day at the news desk, news about seizures and arrest of shabu smugglers and dealers are being reported across our country from Aparri to Jolo. 

Fortunately, the bulk of these illegal drug transshipments were caught and stopped at the ports of entry. And thankfully, our vigilant border control authorities led by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and with the help of our neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the bulk of these smuggled shabu were interdicted. As of this writing, our authorities cannot discount the possibility that more shabu smuggled through other parts of our country might have slipped past their noses.

Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno underscored that Philippine law enforcement agencies are coordinating heavily with Interpol and the ASEAN Narcotics Desk. With guidance from President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM), Nepomuceno disclosed the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) receives and exchanges tips and intelligence reports shared with the ASEAN Narcotics Desk.

Nepomuceno renewed the BOC’s commitment to intensify intelligence-sharing, inspection and coordination with law enforcement agencies to detect and prevent the illegal entry and sale of smuggled goods as part of the agency’s broader efforts to protect the country’s borders, enforce customs laws and prevent government revenue losses due to smuggling.     

Being an archipelagic country, the Philippines has porous borders. Smugglers thrive in their pernicious criminal activities without being caught or disturbed from their illegal trade. Given the limited resources and manpower of law enforcement agencies, most often than not, smugglers get away with their lucrative but illicit business. But in joint anti-smuggling operations, for example, the BOC and the PNP confiscated more than P4.1 million worth of illegal cigarettes loaded into a refrigerated van in Ilog town, Negros Occidental just last week.  

After he took office at Aduana in July last year, he finally solved the undelivered balikbayan boxes being sent here by our overseas Filipino workers. In fact, Nepomuceno is now hosting “Pinoy World” TV show every Saturday from 10:30 to 11 a.m. at the Bilyonaryo News Channel (BNC).

Nepomuceno cited the internal reforms he instituted these past few months should further bring down, if not totally eradicate, smuggling activities in the Philippines. Proof of which, the Customs chief reported the agency’s overshooting target revenue collections from January up to October last year.

Despite a notable decline in volume of imported products that came in for this period, BOC reported total collections reached P853.6 billion.

“It was the highest (collection) for the first ten months of the year in the agency’s history,” the Customs chief proudly noted. 

After all, the BOC is second to the biggest revenue collecting agency of the government, next to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), in support of the national government’s annual budget.

“If properly used,” Nepomuceno quickly riposted during our interview with him at “PolitikoTalks” at the BNC last Friday night.

However, the BOC chief noted ironically the agency’s proposed P29.5-billion budget for next year was cut by the Department of Budget and Management to just P5.9 billion under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).  

Nonetheless, he vows to complete the P12-billion Customs Processing System (CPS) project at no cost to the government. 

He strongly believes this Singapore-technology CPS project that will digitalize transactions at the BOC will effectively run the smugglers and their cohorts out of their nefarious business.

He is strongly appealing to both chambers of the 20th Congress to grant their request for P10-billion additional budget to enable the BOC to procure three of the planned 21 sea vessels to beef up border patrols, especially against smugglers operating in the Philippine open seas. 

 Nepomuceno conceded these reforms did not make him popular among those engaged in narco-politics and crooks in and out of his jurisdiction at the Customs bureau. He is not one cowed by the risks of his mission to do good for the country.