BY GENALYN KABILING
President Duterte has ordered Bureau of Customs (BoC) chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero to shape up, reshuffle the regional offices, and “kill” those behind the continuous smuggling of illegal drugs into the country.
In his televised address Monday night, the President said he called Guerrero and told him that drugs are “still flowing inside the country.”
Duterte also ordered the BoC chief to “kill” those behind the illegal activity as he remained baffled why he had not killed a single person involved in the illegal drug trade despite the firearms acquisition for the agency.
“Sinabi ko sa kanya straight, drug is still flowing inside the country sa Customs. Sabi ko, gusto ko sana sabihin kanina na, ‘di ba naghingi man ‘yan siya ng baril? Sabi ko, ‘I approved the purchase of firearms and until now wala ka napatay ni isa?’ So sabi ko sa kanya, ‘shape up,’” said Duterte .
The President also cautioned Guerrero against putting his trust on people who have long served in the customs agency.
He told him to implement a reshuffle in the regional offices, similar to his order to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and the National Bureau of Investigation, to curb corruption.
“In this when you are new, you are a babe in the forest and you begin to rely on people who would whisper that, ‘Sir, tutulungan ka namin dito’. And when they gain your confidence, he become to rely on what they say until you would believe that they are doing the right thing,” Duterte said.
He lamented that there were times the customs chief “relied more on people who were already old hands there eh ‘di napasok siya sa – sa bulsa (so he was in their pockets).”
Duterte promised Guerrero that he won’t end up in jail for following his order to neutralize those behind the drug trade in customs.
“Sabi ko diretso ‘ang droga pumapasok pa rin.’ Gusto ko pumatay ka diyan ng… Tutal back up-an kita, hindi ka makulong. Basta droga, barilin, patayin mo. Iyan ang usapan eh. Tsk,” he said.
Last week, the President revealed that he considered replacing Guerrero after he dragged his feet in dismissing an alleged corrupt official in the customs bureau.
In his televised address Tuesday, the President said he asked Guerrero, also known as Jagger, to fire his then chief of staff but the customs chief took “quite a lot of seasons to do it.”
Duterte said he could vouch for the integrity of Guerrero but advised him not to “entertain loyalties especially in government.” “If you think that that idiot is going to destroy you, you destroy him first,” Duterte said during a televised address on August 25.
The customs bureau previously drew criticisms after large shipments of illegal drugs slipped past the agency through ports in Manila and other places. Back in 2018, Duterte threatened to ask the military to take over customs after calling out the “lawless elements” inside the bureau. (Genalyn Kabiling)
