BOC execs conniving with smugglers?

The chief of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) accused yesterday top officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of conniving with smugglers to deprive the government of tax revenues.

Undersecretary Antonio Villar said last week PASG agents monitored at least 60 suspected smuggled luxury and sports cars, including a Ferrari, BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes in car dealerships in Timog Avenue in Quezon City and Ortigas Avenue in Pasig.

The “hot cars” were estimated to be worth at least P300 million and were reportedly smuggled through the ports of Manila, Cebu and Subic, he added.

Villar said last Thursday, he asked Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales for a “visitation power” to allow his men to inspect and seize the hot cars.

A general order is allowed under the Tariff and Customs Code (TCC), as well as under Executive Order 624 issued by President Arroyo last May, he added.

However, a PASG sent by Villar said Morales told him he could not issue a blanket order since it is like a search warrant that should be detailed.

On Friday, Morales made a “pro forma move” to let the PASG list the items it suspects to be smuggled and inspect them, the official added.

When PASG agents went back to the car dealerships, the hot cars were gone, the official said.

Another PASG official said invoking the TCC was an excuse by unscrupulous BOC officials to anti-smuggling task forces created by Mrs. Arroyo, including the defunct Task Force on Anti-Smuggling, which filed complaints against Customs officials over the reported smuggling of hundreds of millions of pesos worth of frozen meat. – Paolo Romero