Lacson slams appointment of Baquiran as Customs deputy commissioner

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday expressed outrage over the appointment of Vener Baquiran as Customs Deputy Commissioner, noting that Baquiran had been relieved from his previous post after being accused of corruption.

“As if adding insult to injury, the BOC [Bureau of Customs] faces another question in leadership and management with the appointment of relieved MICP [Manila International Container Port] collector to an even higher post,” Lacson said in a privilege speech.

“Remember my 'tara' exposé and the mysterious case of magnetic lifters?” he added.

Lacson said that Baquiran was accused of being a bagman and was on the list of Customs personnel supposedly receiving payola/tara from big players inside the Bureau, an issue he expounded on in 2017.

He added that Baquiran's name surfaced again in congressional inquiries and was subjected to a probe by both the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice.

Lacson said that the DOJ even recommended that charges be filed against Baquiran after he failed to prevent massive drug shipments concealed in magnetic lifters from entering into the MICP in June 2018.

“May I ask, how can the Bureau thoroughly and sincerely address the country’s drug problem if, instead of punishing the corrupt or incompetent, or both, this administration is even rewarding these people with other positions in government?  Sadly, what they cannot completely throw away, they tend to recycle. This time, at the expense of BOC’s credibility and to the detriment of the public,” he said.

“When we tolerate corruption and its perpetrators in the institution, reward incompetence rather than weed out the roots that breed it; the public will start to believe it is a given and Customs officials will start to believe it is a routine,” he added.

In the same privilege speech, Lacson said the tara system continues to hound the BOC. — BM, GMA News