“The PASG is the worst thing that Gloria Arroyo has foisted on legitimate business. Every time the PASG gets in the news, it is for anti-business activities.”
by Ducky Paredes
“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
When the Romans were discussing the perfect society made up of laborers, slaves and tradesmen with a guardian class to protect them all, the poet Juvenal asked Socrates, the philosopher: “Who will guard the guardians?”
The Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) was always a bad idea. If the people who are supposed to control our ports of entry cannot be trusted, the solution cannot be an ad hoc task force reporting directly to the President that would do what the Bureau of Customs fails to do. The solution is simple: appoint better people in Customs, who will do the job.
The PASG is the worst thing that Gloria Arroyo has foisted on legitimate business. Every time the PASG gets in the news, it is for anti-business activities.
The latest is the widely publicized complaint aired by the Korean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (KCCP) whose president, Edward Chang, openly accused the PASG of extorting money from Korean businessmen.
PKSS Enterprises, a Korean-owned company located at the Tantoco compound in Pasig City was raided by PASG agents last November 4 and shut down even when everything about its operations were in order. PKSS imports furniture from Korea, assembles them and sells them locally. Imagine that the PASG hits them just as they are processing orders for Christmas shoppers!
The original story was that the PASG team would allow the Korean firm to resume partial operation for a certain sum of money, running into hundreds of thousands.
Chang personally informed Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita about the shakedown attempt on PKSS, which is owned by a certain Wan Sup Park, a member of the Korean Chamber of Commerce.
Days later, PASG chief Antonio Villar Jr. showed “proof” that Park denies ever having accused the agency of extortion; in fact, the harried Korean businessman and has even extended a personal apology to the PASG for his role in the rhubarb caused by what now appears to be a what Villar describes as merely a “non-issue.”
As a matter of face (according to Villar), Businessman Wan Sup Park disowned the report on the extortion attributed to the president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce. Park’s denial was in a letter that (according to Villar) Park sent to Chang of the Korean Chamber, a copy of which was given to the PASG and which the agency in turn furnished media.
“As I told you, this PASG did not hold our operations, nor asked for some money. However, our delivery personnel were put on layoff for several days due to no deliveries as our deliveries were held for a few days,” Park explained in his letter copy-furnished to Villar.
Park admits only to “delays” which caused him to lay off delivery personnel. Were the “delayed” deliveries consist of shipments of materials from the piers? Who caused these deliveries that “were held for a few days” as Park states (and which letter was released by Villar to media) and who was responsible for delaying these deliveries?
Were the PASG agents who went to the PKSS office involved in any way in holding up the deliveries? Unfortunately, Park did not elaborate on this topic. Unfortunately still, the controversy reached the attention of the Korean Embassy although Villar also claims that what the Korean ambassador actually did was to thank him for helping Korean companies.
As Santa says: “Ho, ho, ho!”
On the other hand, one newspaper reports that Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita says that he expects many to be “frightened” by the PASG owing to its serious anti-smuggling operations. For a position that used to be traditionally called the “Little President,” an Executive Secretary ought not to use such bad words like “frightened” unless the whole idea for setting up the PASG was actually to frighten businessmen,
More to the point, it strains one’s credulity on whether a reputable and responsible organization of foreign businessmen such as the Korean Chamber of Commerce would willy-nilly accuse an operating agency of their host government of the execrable offense of extortion, without making sure that it stood on solid ground.
Even a diplomat clothed with diplomatic immunity doesn’t go around making such loose accusations, and especially not if you bring such charges to the attention of the Office of the President of your host country, through the Executive Secretary. But then, let us leave things as they are in the light of Park’s denial. He and KCCP President Chang must have learned their lesson by now. They have been “frightened” enough.
“Ho, ho, ho!”
* * *
On yet another issue, the PASG has been ordered immobilized by a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. of the Manila Regional Trial Court.
The TRO resulted from the petition filed by British national Alpha Kwok whom the PASG arrested allegedly for smuggling diamonds into the country worth an estimated P250 million. (Suspiciously, no charges were immediately filed.) The petition, which was filed by Kwok’s lawyer, Bonifacio Alentajan, questions the legality of Executive Order 624, which created the agency.
Alentajan contends that EO 624 was issued in violation of the Constitution when it appropriated an operating budget for the agency. Arguing that only Congress can make such appropriation, the lawyer claims that EO 624 usurps the legislative power of Congress. The lawyer had earlier accused PASG of serious arbitrary detention in connection with the arrest of Kwok.
With respect to the TRO issued by Judge Pampilo, at least one newspaper reported that the PASG insists on continuing its operation (despite the TRO) because the PASG fears that the suspension of their operations will affect their performance especially during the Christmas season.
After all, smugglers could bring in contraband goods and no one would stop them!
Ho, ho, ho!
We do not know how the court will respond to this but if PASG does go on with what it is doing, wouldn’t this constitute a defiance of a lawful judicial order tantamount to contempt of court? It seems that the message that the PASG people wants to convey is that they are the only ones who can be trusted to combat smuggling, and that the regular anti-smuggling units of the Bureau of the Customs are inutile and in cahoots with smugglers.
What say you, Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales?
* * *
We have a letter: “Yes, it appears that the LP-NP days are back given that political leaders of various stripes are flocking to both parties; which is actually a good thing as it clearly defines the battle lines so to speak. In the upcoming 2010 elections, my benchmarks in voting for national candidates are: 1. Integrity and decency in public service; 2. Clean and honest government 3. Change and reforms in governance.
“This early I have made my choice; its the Liberal tandem of Noy-Mar for me.” — Ferdie T. Sibal
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hvp 11.24.09
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