Court orders abolition of presidential anti-smuggling group

(Updated 4:58 p.m.) A Manila court ordered the abolition of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) after it ruled that the decree that created it — Executive Order No. 624 — is "illegal and unconstitutional." The nine-page decision by Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 26 granted the petition filed by British national Siu Ting Alpha Kwok, which sought to declare the decree invalid and unconstitutional. The October 2009 case filed by Kwok, earlier arrested for allegedly smuggling jewelry and precious gems worth millions, also sought declaratory relief. The same case also intended to secure a temporary restraining order against former Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and PASG chief Antonio Villar Jr. "Wherefore, premises considered, the Petition for Declatory relief is hereby granted. Executive Order No. 624 is hereby declared illegal, invalid, unconstitutional and in violation of the doctrine of separation of powers, checks, and balances," Pampilo said. The PASG was likewise scored for failing to promote efficiency, the ruling said. The Alliance of Customs Brokers, Truckers, Importers and Organizations Nationwide (ACTION) submitted a manifesto demanding the abolition of PASG "to put an end to an abusive, unnecessary, redundant, red tape imposing presidential creation that has contributed more problems than the solutions of the anti-smuggling campaign," the decision said. The decree creating the PASG has become a "source of excessive abuses and official lawlessness," Kwok claimed, adding that its functions duplicate those of the Bureau of Customs (BOC). "As such, it emasculates the powers and functions of the Bureau of Customs which is provided for by the law," Kwok’s counsel stressed in the case. The President’s ordinance power to issue executive orders is limited to the implementation or execution or statutory power and that the creation of PASG is not a product of simply reshaping or reorganizing the bureaucracy, Pampilo said. "The executive order created another instrumentality which is not allowed because it is tantamount to usurpation of legislative power and violation of the doctrine of separation of powers between the executive branch and legislative branch of the government," Pampilo said. On Aug. 18, 2009, PASG agents raided Kwok’s residence on the 17th floor of Pacific Place in Ortigas, Pasig City and arrested her for allegedly selling precious gems illegally. But the PASG officers never filed any criminal or administrative case against Kwok before any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial body in the Philippines, her lawyer, Bonifacio Alentajan, said. The PASG illegally arrested Kwok "without the benefit of any warrant to support the arrest, and on a mere suspicion of violating the Tariff and Customs Code. Clearly, she was not committing any offense at the time of her illegal arrest," he added. At Malacañang, Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said the ruling would definitely affect the government's anti-smuggling campaign. "Well definitely it will (affect the campaign) because as had been envisioned, the creation of the anti-smuggling task group is to curb smuggling activities particularly in the water fronts and even in some private ports," Mendoza said at a news conference. He added that the government would study the court ruling and decide what step to take. - RJAB Jr., RSJ, GMANews.TV