(UPDATE) BUREAU of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno has ordered the relief of the chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) at the Port of Manila (PoM) following allegations of irregularity.
Ordered relieved pending results of ongoing investigation was Intelligence Officer III Paul Oliver Pacunayen, chief, CIIS Field Station, PoM.
“I have no choice but to relieve him,” Nepomuceno, in a Viber message, told The Manila Times.
Pacunayen was among those mentioned in a letter sent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by concerned officials, employees and stakeholders of the BOC, alleging a resurgence of smuggling activities in ports.
Also mentioned in the said letter was CIIS Director Thomas Narcise, a former member of Task Force Aduana.
Asked about the status of the CIIS director, Nepomuceno said that Narcise “is a presidential appointee, different situation.”
On Tuesday, Nepomuceno ordered an internal investigation into the reported escalation of smuggling activities, allegedly carried out with the involvement of some officials in the CIIS.
According to Nepomuceno, Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Romy Rosales has been tasked to lead the investigation.
