Palace: Morales to stay at Customs unless proven guilty of charges

Newly installed acting Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales will stay in his post unless proven guilty of the charges leveled against him, Malacañang said yesterday.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita defended Malacañang’s choice of Customs commissioner, saying President Arroyo would not make any appointment without good basis and information gathered from various sources.

"A person is deemed innocent unless proven guilty. If there are no formal charges, nothing will prevent the President from exercising her prerogative to choose her officials," Ermita said.

"I know that one of the reasons why he was chosen was good performance in collection in all his areas of assignment," Ermita added.

Earlier, Assistant Majority Leader Abraham Mitra also urged critics of the President to respect her decision to appoint a career official "with a record of surpassing collection targets" as Customs officer-in-charge.

He said the President used "performance and track record" as the yardstick in appointing Morales, a former Batangas City port collector and a 37-year Customs veteran.

Mitra pointed out that Morales’ record of posting a collective surplus of P7 billion in the ports of Manila and Batangas, with reported shortfalls before he took over, was hard to beat.

But critics said Morales must first clear himself of the smuggling and other charges leveled against him.

Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes confirmed that he had filed a smuggling case against Morales but did not elaborate.

Ermita noted though that should it be proven that Morales was involved in a case, the President could have a change of mind.

"If (his critics) are able to show that he is not really fit for the job, then the President also has the right to withdraw and change him later on, whether he gets appointed on a permanent capacity," Ermita said.

He disclosed that he had checked with Finance Secretary Margarito Teves as well as the Office of Ombudsman and found nothing in Morales’ records that would make his appointment questionable.

"At the moment, we believe that Morales has the capability to head the Bureau of Customs," he said.

Tarlac Rep. Jesli Lapus, House ways and means committee chairman, earlier said that Morales is still on probation and could be appointed in a permanent capacity if he does his job well.

"His good collection track record got him that promotion, but he must prove his worth by meeting collection targets of the Bureau of Customs," Lapus said.

"He must also clear himself of pending charges, if any," he added.

As chairman of the ways and means committee, the panel in charge of tax bills, Lapus has oversight jurisdiction over Morales and his bureau. — Aurea Calica