Customs deputy fears for life after insisting Cavite lifters contained shabu

A deputy collector of the Bureau of Customs who claimed that the magnetic lifters in Cavite contained billions of pesos worth of shabu said on Friday that she had been getting death threats.

In an interview on Balitanghali, Deputy Collector Maria Lourdes Mangaoang also claimed that the bureau did not act on the information that the lifters in Cavite contained P6.8 billion worth of shabu.

"Yes meron talaga. In fact may mga text messages na dumadating o pinapakita sa akin. Sabi daw ng grupo nila, they will make my life miserable. They will destroy me," Mangaoang said.

"Medyo kinakabahan ako but I am being very careful, I hope the media will protect me because I'm just telling the truth," she added.

Mangaoang had disclosed that X-ray images of the magnetic filters showed cloudy sections, indicating that something had been inside them.

The images, according to Mangaoang, were different from the X-ray scans of another batch of magnetic lifters that came in the country on August 13, which did not contain cloudy parts.

She said Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña did not act on the supposed pieces of evidence as regards the magnetic lifters.

In another Balitanghali interview, Customs spokesman Erastus Austria denied the allegation of Mangaoang regarding threats, saying that the accusation was far from the character of the BOC chief.

"That's ridiculous because it is far from the nature of the Commissioner. Who in the right mind would do something like that in the light of everything that is happening now?" Austria said.

Austria said the X-ray images were turned over to Lapeña and were  submitted to the House of Representatives and the Senate blue ribbon committee for their respective investigations.

"From Day 1, there's no attempt to conceal anything, to hide anything. Ang Customs mismo ang naginvestigate nito. Lahat ng images nito six to seven slides were all submitted," Austria said.

"I don't understand bakit sinasabing hindi pinaimbestiga eh binigay nga kay Commissioner 'yung slides na 'yun eh, 'yun po 'yung naging order niya to have that images investigated," he added.