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Customs chief urged to resign over 'missing' container vans


Customs chief Angelito Alvarez should resign after about 2,000 container vans carrying high-duty goods being transported from the port of Manila to the port of Batangas reportedly disappeared without paying duties, an opposition lawmaker said Monday. Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay called on Alvarez to exercise delicadeza and quit his post after his agency failed to collect over P3 billion in taxes due to the missing container vans. "The commissioner has clearly shown that he is incapable of handling his subordinates and he is unsure of how to do his job because of lack of experience. The containers disappeared from right under his nose. This must be a record with the bureau to have lost that much goods in such a short amount of time," Magsaysay said in a statement. Magsaysay added that President Benigno Aquino III should consider removing Alvarez from his post for causing the government to lose taxes by the principle of command responsibility. Alvarez, meanwhile, said Magsaysay's call for his resignation seemed "out of place" since he was the one who uncovered the supposed irregularity. "I was the one who uncovered this. I have already assured that I will fully cooperate in the investigation and that the concerned parties will be charged... Parang wala naman sa lugar," he said in a text message to GMA News Online. The House committee on ways and means continued on Monday morning its probe on the missing container vans. But Ilocos Norte Rep. Fariñas does not believe that Alvarez should be axed from his post following the incident, even lauding the official for exposing the case of the missing vans. "It was Commissioner Alvarez who brought this matter out instead of sweeping it under the rug. We should give him credit for such. He has ordered a thorough investigation, a copy of the initial results of which has been furnished our committee," Fariñas said in a separate text message. Fariñas sits as vice chair of the committee. The House panel found out last week that only 309 container vans containing high-duty rice and sugar arrived at the port of Manila during the first four months of 2011, despite the fact that 2,219 vans left the port of Batangas. The Bureau of Customs has found 14 of its officials liable for the loss of the container vans and has vowed to file grave misconduct charges against them. Fariñas said the Customs officials should also be slapped with criminal raps. "Without criminal charges, these people will continue to live happily ever after committing a crime," he said during the inquiry. — RSJ/KBK, GMA News

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