Customs deputy commissioner quits as Lapeña takes over helm

Customs Deputy Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno on Wednesday resigned to give new Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña the chance to compose his own management team, GMA News' Jun Veneracion reported.

Customs Dep. Comm. Ariel Nepomuceno tenders his courtesy resignation "to give the new Commissioner the chance to have his own team.."

— Jun Veneracion (@jun_veneracion) August 30, 2017

Lapeña on Wednesday formally took over the helm of the bureau that has been in the middle of a controversy for weeks now over alleged corruption and the P6.4 billion shabu shipment that slipped past customs in May.

The new commissioner vowed to stop corruption in the bureau and intensify operations to increase government revenues during his leadership.

Meanwhile, Nepomuceno was earlier named by Senator Panfilo Lacson as among those receiving bribes from unscrupulous shippers.  —Anna Felicia Bajo/NB, GMA News