PACC jumps into P6.8-B shabu mess

I will reiterate my call for the creation of the Presidential Office on Drugs and Crimes which will put PDEA and BoC together under the Office of the President.

The recent smuggling of P6.8 billion worth of shabu that slipped through the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) appeared to have used the same modus as that of the P6.4-billion illegal substance that escaped Bureau of Customs (BoC) detection in May last year which is a similarity that the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) wanted probed.

The PACC, which President Rodrigo Duterte formed to look into corruption allegations, said the probe will look into the suspected conspiracy between BoC officials and notorious smugglers.

PACC Commissioner Manuelito Luna said his agency will conduct the probe since the smuggling of a huge volume of illegal drugs was “very disturbing” and that the commission “will not take this sitting down.”

The PACC “will not hesitate to recommend to the President the firing of public officials found to be remiss in the performance of duties, or worse, acted in conspiracy with smugglers in facilitating the entry of the contraband,” Luna said.

A raid conducted by the PDEA on a warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez Cavite found four empty magnetic lifters believed used in smuggling a ton of shabu into the country worth an estimated P6.8 billion.

Earlier, an estimated P4.3 billion worth of the illegal drugs smuggled into the country using similar magnetic lifting equipment was intercepted at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

The PDEA leadership said the one ton of shabu could not have slipped into the country without the participation of corrupt BoC officials.

To end the buck passing between the PDEA and the BoC, Senate President Vicente Sotto III sought the creation of an office under the President to supervise both agencies in addressing the illegal drug menace.

Sotto said President Duterte can issue an executive order to create the office, just like the defunct PACC.

Sotto said it was obvious that there was connivance that resulted in the illegal drugs slipping out of the ports.

“I will reiterate my call for the creation of the Presidential Office on Drugs and Crimes which will put PDEA and BoC together under the Office of the President,” Sotto said.

For his part, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who is a former chief of the Philippine National Police, could only pray that “flood will sweep away the one ton of shabu that slipped out from the BoC.”

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said that government authorities should learn from this experience and start back-tracking to determine how the shabu managed to enter the country and who was behind it.

A Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report on the P6.4 billion shabu shipment last year pinpointed collusion between Chinese drug syndicates and corrupt Customs officials.

The Senate panel recommended the filing of graft charges against former Customs Commissioner and now Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator Nicanor Faeldon, several other BoC officials and private brokers.

It also recommended an overhaul of the agency.

Meanwhile, Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña identified the consignee of the one ton of shabu shipment worth P6.8 billion as SMYD Trading. The shipment was discovered in Cavite.

Initial information revealed that the recent bulk shipment of illegal drugs came from Taiwan using Malaysia as transshipment point. PDEA chief Aaron Aquino said the Golden Triangle syndicate is behind the shipment.

“As a result of our back-tracking investigation, it was identified that it was consigned to SMYD Trading, owned by Marina de la Cruz Signapan with Customs broker Katrina Grace Cuasay, declared the shipment as magnetic lifter,” he said.

“The shipment passed through the normal procedure. It was tagged red, had been x-rayed and examined but, as what PDEA had said, the drugs inside it cannot be detected,” he added.

Lapeña said he first received information that included the full details of the shipment (two magnetic lifters) only on 4 August. He immediately put the container on hold.

“On 7 August, the shipment was opened and examined at the MICP. This shipment which was consigned to Vecaba trading arrived at MICP on 28 June and was abandoned by the consignee. Based on our record, this consignee is not accredited by the Bureau of Customs,” Lapeña added.

Last Friday, he ordered the revocation of the accreditation of SMYD Trading.

The StaffBorn at the turn of this century, the Daily Tribune immediately took hardcore stance on issues, bearing a slogan that speaks of its character.