Customs officers in 'theft' relieved

Malacañang assures there’ll be no sleazy spending under its state of calamity in power-short Mindanao. Amidst all that blather, though, Palace officials are moving for kickbacks. They’ve cornered all available generators for rent in RP and Singapore. Try calling Aggreko-Asia (aggreko.com.sg) and cringe at being told that Malacañang already has reserved all its stocks. The crooks won’t let the private sector ease the power crisis efficiently and cleanly.

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It not only leaves a bad taste in the mouth but also sends a chilling effect on magistrates. The Department of Justice is charging Quezon City Judge Theresa de la Torre-Yadao for “knowingly rendering unjust judgment.” This, when she convicted ex-congressman Jose Villarosa of Mindoro in 2006 for the 1997 murder of a political foe’s two sons.

A judge decides cases based on, among others, skillful prosecution or defense. During Villarosa’s trial the DOJ prosecutor must have convinced Judge Yadao with testimonies and hard proof. But now Judge Yadao is to be charged by the DOJ — for believing a DOJ prosecutor. The illogic could scare judges from hereon convicting criminals.

The Court of Appeals had acquitted Villarosa on review. Soon after he sued Judge Yadao. The Quezon City prosecutor dismissed the rap on Sept. 17, 2009, and denied the motion for reconsideration on Feb. 7, 2010. Unknown to Judge Yadao, Villarosa on Feb. 25 petitioned Justice Sec. Agnes Devanadera for review. Only on Mar. 3 did Judge Yadao find out that Devanadera had reversed the two earlier dismissals and that she would now be charged. Devanadera’s order was dated two days earlier, Mar. 1. Judge Yadao was never given a chance to formally contest it. Devanadera has since resigned to run for Congress.

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The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service became too hot. So Customs head Napoleon Morales sacked Friday two officers linked to alleged pilferage of confiscated electronics and perfumery. Relieved were CIIS operations chief Eric Albano and assistant Mitchell Verdeflor. On record they had moved items worth millions of pesos from the agency warehouse in Manila’s Port Area last month. They claimed to have brought the goods to their office, but wouldn’t show it to the press.

Among the lost are four 50-inch plasma TVs, 14 car stereos, four professional cameras, a video-game player, and nine bottles of perfume. Albano and Verdeflor claimed to have taken these as evidence. But the alibi was doubted because the seized goods in a 40-footer container turned out to be not smuggled but legally imported. Besides, evidence gathering is the job of Customs examiners, not the CIIS. There’s also a long-standing rule that only one sample of each kind may be taken as evidence, and this must be signed for and returned at once to custodians. Verdeflor had confiscated the items on Feb. 10 upon exit from the Customs zone. To this day he has not filed a formal report. Allegedly he had no mission order for the operation, but a higher-up provided one after the story broke. There is no “warrant to seize and detain” the shipment; Customs lawyers are unwilling to issue such because of no proof of smuggling.

Intelligence boss Fernandino Tuason as immediate superior sought Albano and Verdeflor’s suspension. CIIS Dir. Filomino Vicencio endorsed it to Commissioner Morales. Notably Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Jairus Paguntalan wrote “Recommending (your) approval.” Paguntalan only recently had formed Albano and Verdeflor’s Operations Section even though it is not part of the Customs plantilla. The two’s relief is pending the investigation of the alleged theft by Internal Inquiry and Prosecution boss Willie Sarmiento. Tuason and Sarmiento hold lateral positions under Vicencio, who in turn reports to Paguntalan.

The inquiry that Morales had ordered last week bears watching. There’s talk that interviewer Sarmiento and interviewee Albano are compadres (baptismal or matrimonial co-parents). It’s unclear how high up Sarmiento’s probe will reach. From warehouse logbooks, Verdeflor took the items out on Feb. 22 and 23. In a press conference on Feb. 25 a reporter had asked Paguntalan if the confiscated goods were intact. Paguntalan said yes, and Albano confirmed so. It turned out that their men already had taken some items.

The relief and investigation can begin to look serious depending on Paguntalan’s actions. If, for starters, he gives no mission orders to Albano and Verdeflor, and makes them report to his office daily, then things could move right. Finance department agents had lifestyle-checked the duo in 2009, and found them to possess unexplained wealth, including land, luxury SUVs and assault rifles. Charges filed with the Ombudsman in March, April and July have only gathered dust, however. Allegedly a top man in the anti-graft body is sitting on the charge sheets, on request of a Customs higher-up.

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Shadow of Doubt: Probing the Supreme Court, the first of its kind in RP, launches Mar. 16, 4 p.m., at One Serendra Social Hall, The Fort, Taguig. The book of journalist Marites Dañguilan Vitug pries open tightly shut windows of the Court to give readers a glimpse of the least visible branch of government. It introduces the public to the internal dynamics of the Court, like justices’ behavior and thinking.

Both hardbound and paperback editions of Shadow of Doubt will be available in select outlets and Newsbreak. For inquiries, call Cecille Santos or Arnold Gueco at +63 2 9200997, or e-mail [email protected].

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“You cannot share your life too soon because tomorrow might be too late. Any act of love can be your last one. Love now before your heart gets buried in the grave.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: [email protected]