BoC warns smuggling-linked officials

Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno didn’t hold back when talking about Bureau of Customs (BoC) personnel tagged in a multi-billion-peso cigarette smuggling case by the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG). “Your days are numbered,” he said.

In a Viber message to the DAILY TRIBUNE on Friday, Nepomuceno stressed that any BoC official found involved in smuggling will face the consequences. “We will not tolerate any of our employees if, indeed, they have any involvement in smuggling. The personnel being referred to are already under investigation. However, it’s too early to judge someone simply because she is the wife of the trucker and lessee,” he said.

Earlier, HPG director Brig. Gen. Hansel Marantan claimed in a press briefing at Camp Crame that the owner of the 14 trailer trucks carrying smuggled cigarettes intercepted in Balete, Batangas on 31 December 2025, is married to a BoC officer.

While Nepomuceno affirmed that the investigation is ongoing, he urged the public to respect the basic rights of the official involved. He also cautioned against jumping to conclusions about higher-level BoC officials being implicated.

“Besides, initial reports show that the cigarettes didn’t come through the ports. They may even be locally produced, as seen in a recent Pampanga raid where counterfeit cigarettes were seized. The same brands were also identified in Batangas,” Nepomuceno explained.

The Customs chief added that the BoC is reviewing its southern border security, where illegal cigarettes often enter the country without passing through official ports. “All government agencies must work together — AFP, PNP, Philippine Coast Guard — to stop this. Rest assured, we will investigate this objectively. Our ports remain tightly monitored as instructed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” he said.

The PNP-HPG has already filed complaints against five individuals under RA 12022, the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act, and is considering including financiers of the contraband in the charges. Police personnel are also being investigated for possible involvement.

Meanwhile, Nepomuceno recalled that he previously ordered a probe into the rise of cigarette smuggling and other illegal activities allegedly linked to some officers of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service. The investigation led to the relief of Intelligence Officer III Paul Oliver Pacunayen, chief of the CIIS Field Station in Port of Manila.