PASG URGED TO UNMASK GODFATHER OF SMUGGLERS

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Nene" Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today urged the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group to identify the ranking customs official which it has tagged as "godfather of smuggling" and to make good on its vow to file criminal and administrative charges against this person.

Pimentel said the PASG under Undersecretary Antonio Villar should be commended for going after big-time smugglers and their protectors in government.

But he said the agency should not hesitate to unmask highly-placed public officials who are in cahoots with smugglers if they have the goods against them.

By keeping the names of these influential but crooked officials under wraps, the minority leader said the PASG will only create the impression that it is ambivalent about clamping down on them, probably because of their powerful connections.

"Smuggling is a bane of our economic development. Fruits, vegetables, cars, textiles and other products apparently enter our country at will. What it takes is political will to implement the law no matter who gets hurt," Pimentel said.

"The smuggled fruits and vegetables lessen the economic viability of our farmers. The smuggled textiles and vehicles damage our own industries. Overall, undeterred smuggling makes our country look like a smugglers' paradise."