Lapeña not accountable for shabu smuggling incident —Barbers

As far as Surigao del Norte Representative Robert Ace Barbers is concerned, former Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña has no accountability for the supposed smuggling of shabu, believed to be amounting to billions of pesos, into the country.

Barbers, who chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, made the remark amid his committee's ongoing inquiry into the Bureau of Customs' (BOC) alleged inability to prevent the large-scale smuggling of illegal drugs into the country.

"Personally, wala akong nakikitang kinalaman ni Commissioner Lapeña diyan sa pagpapalusot ng shipments yan," Barbers told reporters in a press conference.

Even if Lapeña failed to observe command responsibility in the smuggling incident, Barbers said he thinks the erstwhile BOC chief still had no considerable accountability.

"If [command responsibility] would be considered, I don't think it would apply in a criminal situation such as smuggling of illegal drugs. Then, sa tingin ko wala pa ring ganung kabigat na accountability si Commissioner Lapeña," Barbers said.

After hearing the testimonies and evidence presented during the latest hearing of the House panel, Lapeña said he was already convinced that the magnetic lifters found in a warehouse in Cavite contained shabu.

The following day, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that would transfer Lapeña to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Duterte has also ordered the military to take over the operations of the BOC in an attempt to address the corruption and drug smuggling incidents that the agency is involved in.

But newly-appointed Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, who replaced Lapeña, has said there will be no militarization of the BOC, and that its incumbent personnel will still handle its operations.

Duterte has since clarified that he had only ordered placing BOC officers on floating status and not for members of the military to take over the bureau. —KBK, GMA News