It looks like Customs Commissioner Lito Alvarez is definitely on the way out. President Aquino has said that he already has a replacement for him, although Alvarez has not resigned until now and insists that he is not involved in any wrongdoing.
What has Alvarez done that he is being shown the door? The latest sensation is that almost 2,000 container vans were lost by the Bureau of Customs. A container van is a very big box, bigger than a big truck. Inside each van are various goods imported into the country, either legal or smuggled. How can the BOC lose almost 2,000 of them? They would occupy an area as big as a city block, and a convoy bearing them would stretch out on the highway for several kilometers. How can they disappear without a trace?
I asked those who should know, and they told me the missing container vans were transshipped to the Port of Batangas from the Port of Manila (POM) and the Manila International Container Port (MICP) for many days between May and June this year. Transshipment is the process of moving imported cargoes from their original ports of discharge to their final ports of destination, and is covered under the Tariff and Customs Code.
At first glance, Alvarez really seems at fault for the loss of such a big number of container vans. Batangas port collector Juan Tan, who was relieved of his post, had been going around media circles and saying only 309 vans reached his port, while 1,910 are unaccounted for.
What happened? How could so many huge vans disappear into thin air? It would be very difficult to hide just one container van, let alone 1,910 of them.
That was sensational and the media had a well-orchestrated field day attacking Alvarez. What was not reported was that the containers bound for Batangas were returned to the Port of Manila within only a few hours after leaving Manila—already empty, of course. It is impossible for the vans to reach Batangas, unload, and then make the return trip to Manila in so short a time, given the traffic congestion along the way. It is obvious that the containers did not reach Batangas but were unloaded somewhere near Manila and then returned to the port.
It is also impossible to lose almost 2,000 containers without the coordinated efforts of customs people and the smugglers. Remember, those containers were escorted by customs security police. So why is it Alvarez who is being penalized and his detractors rewarded? Why were the customs security escorts not even questioned? This doesn’t make sense.
The President should not be hasty. Maybe he is sacking the wrong man. Alvarez may be an innocent man being framed up by his detractors who are after his position or who feel threatened by his campaign against smugglers. The demolition job against him has been a big media operation. It can only be funded and orchestrated by a powerful and influential syndicate. But have you noticed that despite all the negative things they said about Alvarez, he has never been linked to any irregularity? On the contrary, it was he who blew the whistle on the missing container vans.
Alvarez has asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for help in investigating the case. If he has any link to the case, the NBI investigation will reveal that.
Alvarez disclosed last Aug. 26 that he and his team of auditors discovered 3,656 more missing container vans from January to December last year. A total of 3,844 containers were granted transshipment permits last year. This was broken down as follows: 3,054 containers between January and early July last year, or during the previous administration, and 790 more between November and December.
The BOC under Alvarez has filed 43 smuggling cases against individuals and companies. He also stopped the transshipment of cargoes, a move that can curb abuse of official procedures. Is it possible that the smugglers are feeling the heat and are striking back at Alvarez with the demolition job?
Perhaps another count against Alvarez is the drop in customs collection. Customs collections for the first seven months dropped by 2.04 percent, or from P152.960 billion from January to July 2010, to P149.840 billion for the same period this year. But this is due to various tariff agreements between the Philippines and Asean countries as well as with China, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. There was also a slowdown in imports and the appreciation of the peso against the US dollar.
The P3-billion shortfall is far from the exaggerated claim of a legislator who said that it reached P22 billion from January to July this year.
To be fair and in the name of justice, so that we do not lynch the wrong man, why not give Alvarez three months to prove that he deserves to stay? Let him prove himself during that time span. If he doesn’t deliver, then the President would be justified in chopping off his head.
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TAKE TWO: In my column about the recent show of Willie Nep at the Music Museum, I forgot to acknowledge the participation of an accomplished actress who impersonated Presidents Cory Aquino and GMA. It wasn’t Willie who played them; he doesn’t impersonate female characters. It was Willie’s very own daughter, Frida, who played the roles of Cory and GMA, and participated in the musical numbers between his father’s costume changes. Frida is fast becoming his father’s daughter.
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KAPIHAN NOTES: The Kapihan sa Manila at the Diamond Hotel resumes this Monday. Invited guests are former Rep. Ruffy Biazon, Governor Amado Tetangco of the Bangko Sentral, Jose Pardo of the Manila Stock Exchange, and Philip Romualdez of the Chamber of Mines.