PASG chief dismisses official for protecting smuggler

Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) chief Undersecretary Antonio Villar, Jr. has dismissed the agency’s deputy director in the Port of Zamboanga City for releasing a seized container van loaded with millions of pesos worth of smuggled plastic toys.

“This will serve as a warning to all other PASG personnel that we will deal harshly with any misdemeanor on their part,” said Villar, who also ordered the filing of charges against deputy director Joseph Gonzales.

Villar and PASG Director for Operations Danilo Mangila personally arrested and handcuffed Gonzales when he reported to the PASG head office in Malacañang last Friday, several hours after he secured the release of the container van from the agency’s store area in Manila after he introduced himself to the PASG guards in the yard as the PASG deputy director for Metro Manila, which is a non-existent position.

“It hurts me. But I must show example of my firm desire to rid my ranks of misfits. He (Gonzales) must suffer the consequences of his misdeed,” Villar said yesterday as he ordered the filing of criminal and administrative charges against Gonzales, who was turned over to the police for further investigation.

The PASG guards said Gonzales arrived at the PASG yard on San Marcelino St. at around midnight, showed his identification card and identified himself as PASG deputy director for Metro Manila.

He then convinced the guards of his authority and thereafter, ordered the release of the seized container van, which is now the subject of a hunt.

What earned the ire of Villar and Mangila was when he reportedly told the guards that he could easily work out the matter with Mangila.