Acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar (File photo) MANILA - Malacanang on Tuesday urged the Senate to file charges against Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Rey Guerrero and 21 other personalities who were tagged as alleged protectors and smugglers of agricultural products worth hundreds of millions of pesos. This, after the Senate Committee of the Whole on Monday released a 63-page report of the list of personalities which included officials of the BOC, Department of Agriculture, and several mayors. The report said the amount of smuggled agri-fishery commodities from 2019 to 2022 was estimated at PHP667.5 million. "We are one with the Senate in fighting corruption in the bureaucracy," acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a press statement. Andanar said filing charges before the Ombudsman would also allow those accused to defend themselves. "File the necessary charges before the Off
(File photo) MANILA - Officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Tuesday denied their supposed involvement in agricultural smuggling in the country. "I vehemently deny the accusations against me on my alleged involvement in agricultural smuggling based on a supposed 'validated' list. Law enforcement agencies such as the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) denied the release or submission of any Intelligence Report from their respective agencies allegedly implicating any BOC official in any smuggling activity," Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said in a statement. The BOC chief's remarks came after he and several other officials of the bureau were named as alleged protectors and smugglers of agricultural products in a report of the Senate Committee of the Whole on Monday. Guerrero said the numerous accomplishments of BOC in its campaign against agricultural smuggli