Walang kaibigan, walang kumpare, walang kamag-anak o anak na maaaring magsamantala ngayon.
— President Joseph Ejercito Estrada in his 1998 inaugural speech
Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno is adamant in his pronouncement that “there are no sacred cows” and all investigations being done regarding employees or officials of the Bureau of Customs involved in illegal or irregular activities will be transparent and without favor.
We were able to get a hold of the Customs chief and he was firm in his commitment to clean the BoC of ‘undesirables’ as any complaint lodged in his office will be taken seriously and dealt with.
“We assure the public that every credible allegation will be given due attention and that anyone found to have violated the law as may be established by evidence, will be dealt with in accordance with law,” Nepomuceno stressed.
The BoC’s top man was reacting to the urgent call of Senator Joseph Victor ‘JV’ Ejercito to sanitize the rank and file employees of the Bureau and rid the agency of corruption.
Ejercito was prompted to make the call following reports of two Customs employees who were cited as being involved in the sale of smuggled cigarettes and are now included in the criminal complaint filed in court by the Metro Manila-Highway Patrol Group.
The two employees have been identified as special agent Lucky Joy Solmayor and technical support staff Alexander ‘Alex’ Arroyo Jr. of the Customs Police-Enforcement Security Service (ESS).
However, despite Nepomuceno’s strong stand against corruption and his commitment to kick out the ‘bad eggs’, our sources have informed us that Solmayor is still “monitoring” and “verifying” condemnation activities being conducted with regards to confiscated cigarettes as well as other contraband, including ‘ukay-ukay’, in Porac, Pampanga.
Our informant provided to us a copy of the mission order that designated Solmayor and two others to complete their duties on August 3, 2026, signed by BoC Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Emmanuel Luis Licup.
“Tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang trabaho niya (Solmayor). Hindi pa siguro nare-revoke ang kanyang Mission Order sa kabila ng kontrobersiya at kasong kinakaharap niya,” he noted.
“Sa dami ng mga containers, hindi pa tapos ang condemnation activities. Maaaring abutin pa ito hanggang sa susunod na buwan o Nobyembre,” he added to describe the actual situation.
In thus, our source is besides himself in wonderment: “Nagiging palaisipan tuloy sa Aduana kung bakit ang lakas naman ng kapit nitong si Solmayor sa kabila ng mga alegasyon laban sa kanya. Lumalabas na hindi pa rin siya talaga nasisibak sa kanyang puwesto kahit mayroon pang isinisagawang imbestigasyon.”
For us here at the (Daily) Chronicle, we can only say “your guess is as good as mine!”
Right, Comm Nepo . . .?
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Thank you and mabuhay!
