Customs X-ray head at Cebu port sacked

The provincial head of the Bureau of Customs’ X-ray scanning project at the Port of Cebu was recently sacked following allegations of rampant smuggling of vehicles, a Customs official said.

Lawyer Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, chief of the BOC’s X-ray scanning project, said project officer Gino Minguillan was demoted to the post of assistant field officer.

Renato Palgan, head of the BOC’s X-ray project at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), replaced Minguillan, she said.

Palgan’s post was given to Pedro Gutierrez, who was, in turn, replaced by X-ray inspector Virgilio Mupas as MICP’s X-ray assistant field officer.

Although Mangaoang said that Minguillan’s removal was meant to boost the bureau’s collection by strengthening its X-ray scanning project, a Customs insider told The STAR that Minguillan was “punished” for “negligence.”

Undersecretary Antonio Villar Jr., head of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG), earlier revealed that most smuggled vehicles apprehended in Metro Manila were registered in Cebu, especially in Toledo City.

Last December alone, the PASG apprehended 81 smuggled vehicles, all from Cebu.

The alleged smuggling of vehicles into Cebu has prompted a congressional investigation. Eight Cebuano legislators sought the probe after noting a “huge discrepancy” in the number of vehicle registrations with the Land Transportation Office and the number of units sold by legitimate vehicle manufacturers.

The Ombudsman-Visayas has reportedly started a parallel investigation to determine the possible involvement of some government officials in vehicle smuggling.