Isinailalim na ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa control ng Armed Forces of the Philippines ang Bureau of Customs o BOC.
Ito’y bunsod ng panibagong kontrobersyang kinakaharap ng BOC partikular ang umano’y 6.8 billion peso smuggled shabu na sinasabing itinago sa mga magnetic lifter.
Sa kanyang talumpati sa thanksgiving dinner ni dating Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano sa Davao City, inatasan ni Pangulong Duterte ang lahat ng empleyado ng Customs na direktang mag-report sa Malacañang.
“They will be replaced, all of them, by military men. It will be a takeover of the Armed Forces in the matter of operating, in the meantime, while we are sorting out how to effectively meet the challenges of corruption in this country.”
“With these kinds of games they are playing, dirty games, I am forced now to ask the Armed Forces to take over.”
“I want to put on notice everybody in the Bureau of Customs, they are all in floating status. Maybe start again working, but I said, they are all floating status.”
“The Customs intelligence unit, they are to report to Malacañang, all of them. I’m ordering everybody to report to my office. Maybe I’ll issue the memorandum. They will hold office there at the Malacañang Gymnasium. Lahat.”
“Remember I have issued, during the first days of my term, this is the declaration of lawlessness. Part of the lawless elements is there inside the Bureau of Customs” Pahayag ng Pangulong Duterte
Bagaman kumbinsido ang Punong Ehekutibo na hindi naman lahat ng nasa Aduana ay magnanakaw, kinailangan anyang gumamit ng puwersa upang mapilitang lumabas ang mga tunay na tiwaling opisyal at empleyado.
“Alam mo, baka sabihin ni Duterte, hindi naman kami lahat magnanakaw eh. Correct, so very correct. You are right. Not all of you are thieves. But you know, you must be an idiot not to understand. You say that you are honest, that you are not part of the cabal there. And so? If that is your line, I cannot move, and you stay there, and I have to speculate if you are really a gangster working for the Bureau of Customs, a government employee. I do not have the time for that.”
“I’d like them out, then one by one, if they still deserve. If none, then, since I cannot fire them, then I have to file a case, and then appeal after appeal, maybe it could last for another 10 years. And so by that time, we have lost so many billions, and you are destroying my country.” Dagdag ni Pangulong Duterte
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