Customs chief Guerrero denies involvement in agri smuggling

Customs Commissioner Rey Guerrero on Tuesday refuted the Senate Committee of the Whole’s report which identified him as among the alleged protectors and smugglers of agricultural products.

“I vehemently deny the accusations against me on my alleged involvement in agricultural smuggling based on a supposed ‘validated’ list,” Guerrero said in a statement.

According to a Senate panel report on Monday, Guerrero and 21 others were identified based on an intelligence report received by Senate President Vicente Sotto III on May 17, 2022 which contained a "validated list" of persons purportedly involved in the illegal importation of agricultural products in the country.

But the Customs chief said that law enforcement agencies such as the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police “denied the release or submission of any Intelligence Report from their respective agencies allegedly implicating any BOC (Bureau of Customs) official in any smuggling activity.”

“We firmly denounce fraudulent importations of agricultural products. BOC remains committed to its mandate of securing the country's borders against the entry of smuggled agricultural products and other illicit goods,” said Guerrero, a former military chief.

According to the Senate panel report, the amount of technically smuggled agri-fishery commodities from 2019 to 2022 was estimated at P667.5 million. There were 31 smuggling cases which remain pending since May 28, 2021 with an estimated amount of P848.327 million.

Guerrero, however, said that the same Senate panel report also contains the numerous accomplishments of BOC in its campaign against agricultural smuggling, and the adoption of the executive recommendations, “which I directed.”

“Among these recommendations we implemented are the strengthened inter-agency collaboration and data exchange of relevant information and documents such as the Inward Foreign Manifest, among others,” he said.

“We also allowed DA (Department of Agriculture) representatives to take part in the non-intrusive inspection of containers to ensure full transparency in the examination of agricultural products,” he added.

The BOC also offered DA to deputize its personnel for enforcement operations, according to Guerrero.

“We allocated more resources to enforcement assets through the procurement of 200 body-worn cameras, 20 units of fast patrol vessels, 60 advanced mobile x-ray machines, 16 Trace Detection Systems, and 100 rifles. Further, 199 new enforcement personnel were hired, and 40 were promoted since 2018,” he said.

“We also established the Customs Operations Center (COC) which serves as a fusion center to integrate and analyze intelligence, enforcement, and operational information gathered from various sources. The COC proves to be effective in guarding the borders by the immediate processing of all information and ultimately deterring any possible violation,” he added.

The Customs chief said that 82% or 139 out of the 170 Customs processes are now automated to reduce human intervention that provides an avenue for negotiation.

“Continuous trainings are also conducted for our intelligence and enforcement agents in relation to technical capabilities in determining quality, description, and types of agricultural commodities,” Guerrero said.

“With these measures in place, we were able to seize a total of P2.5 billion worth of smuggled agricultural products in various ports nationwide from 2016 to May 2022, while a total of 111 criminal cases have been filed before the Department of Justice against unscrupulous stakeholders,” he said, adding that “84 importers and customs brokers involved in agricultural smuggling were revoked of their accreditation since 2019.” 

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Director Jeoffrey Tacio also denied any involvement in smuggling activities. 

“I strongly take exception to my inclusion in the list of alleged protectors of unscrupulous personalities involved in the smuggling of agricultural products mentioned in the Senate Committee Report. I vehemently deny that I am a coddler of smugglers,” Tacio said in a statement.

He also said that under his leadership, the CIIS “has been at the forefront in the drive against agricultural smuggling.”

“We have thwarted smuggling of agricultural products with joint operations of law enforcement agencies. We have been closely working with the AFP, PNP, NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and the PCG (Philippine Coast Guard) to carry out the anti-smuggling efforts of the Bureau,” Tacio said.

Tacio said the list may have been produced by those who were affected by their anti-smuggling operations.

“Whoever gave the list may have been one of the smugglers whom we have apprehended their shipments. But we will not be deterred. We are more inspired to continue doing our mandate to protect our borders and prevent smuggling to the last day,” he said. — RSJ/VBL, GMA News