BEIJING (via PLDT) – Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez will be in office until Sept. 16, President Aquino said yesterday.
Aquino did not say who would replace Alvarez although it had been widely reported that it would be former Muntinlupa representative Rozzano Biazon.
Aquino said the incoming Customs chief had asked for some “peace and quiet” until Sept. 16 before a formal announcement of his appointment is made.
Aquino said he would no longer entertain the arguments of Alvarez.
“He had a year to do the things that I have tasked and I’m not satisfied,” Aquino said.
He said it was his “ambition” during the campaign to personally and “literally” catch container vans of smugglers with Alvarez at the helm.
“Did something happen already? The worse part is that even the container vans got lost. There are certain things I’ve been asking, I asked the supervisor, the Secretary of Finance, I was not given an answer that I enjoyed or I liked, certain priorities of mine were not attended to,” Aquino said.
Aquino said the spouse of the new Customs chief reluctantly had agreed to the offer and requested some last few quiet moments to celebrate their “anniversary.”
“Since the person will enter a Calvary, I suppose his request to give him some peace and quiet in the meantime will not be too much,” he said.
Alvarez, for his part, said he would continue to support the President and Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima in the fight against corruption.
He said he would turn over the records of the BOC to the next commissioner.
At the same time, Alvarez said he would reveal the identities of smugglers who allegedly conspired to oust him as chief of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
Alvarez said he would reveal the identities of the people that he branded as “smugglers” operating in the BOC.
Alvarez responded to the challenge of Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna, who said the Customs chief’s exit “would be in vain if he does not name names and if he brings away with him when he leaves his knowledge about supposed powerful people traced all the way to Malacañang.”
Tugna challenged Alvarez to name the big-time smugglers in BOC.
Alvarez said he is grateful Tugna made the challenge to him.
“We would do that in the proper time. It just so happened we could not name names now without documentary proof... we could issue statements now but at the end of the day, what is crucial here is the conviction,” Alvarez said.
“If we cannot convict (them) because we do not have the evidence, what’s the point? So hopefully the efforts that we are doing like the filing of the case and looking for state witness is a step toward the right direction,” he added.
Alvarez pointed out that since he became Customs commissioner 14 months ago, the BOC has been filing cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ). To date, they have filed 43 smuggling cases and that have a total claim of P53 billion.
In the case of the missing 1,910 containers, they have already filed charges against the importers and brokers.
“We are hoping that somebody from that group would come out, become a state witness and name those who are behind this,” Alvarez said.
The BOC is also coordinating with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to also look on the tax payment of companies LCN Trading, Sea Eagle Trading and Marcelion Enterprises.
“If we cannot pin them down in smuggling charges, maybe they would not be able to escape the BIR. We have already submitted copies of their records to the BIR,” Alvarez said.
Tugna had said there had been talks about moves to remove Alvarez from the BOC since June.
“If Commissioner Alvarez’s insinuations are true that corruption in the BOC did him in, then it is a day of mourning for CIBAC, now that Alvarez has been unceremoniously fired by the President,” Tugna said.
Tugna added that like many of his colleagues, he believed that Alvarez was doing a good job. He also advised the beleaguered BOC chief not to let his guard down and still pursue smugglers.
The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) also expressed sadness over Alvarez’s departure from the BOC.
FPI, a group of 41 industry associations and 90 corporate members led by Jesus Arranza said the BOC under the leadership of Alvarez had established a good rapport and strong working relation with the group under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) that resulted in major breakthroughs.
Arranza said Alvarez had strengthened the technical assistance given by industry experts who assisted the government in monitoring technically smuggled imported goods.
He said the FPO feeds the BOC with valuable information and documents leading to the various major apprehensions and discovery of smuggled products.
Arranza noted the need for the FPI to strengthen its partnership with the BOC considering that the government is losing P127 billion annually in smuggling.
Arranza said the FPI would still give the same support to the next BOC chief.
The President announced Monday that Alvarez is already on the way out but declined to identify the replacement.
There had been talks that Biazon, the son of Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, would be appointed as the new Customs chief. Biazon and Aquino belong to the ruling Liberal Party (LP). - Aurea Calica, Evelyn Macairan, Ma. Elisa Osorio