Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno has initiated a sweeping internal purge within the agency’s intelligence department following allegations that smuggling operations have once again penetrated the ranks, this time with possible help from within its own enforcement and intelligence units.
Nepomuceno ordered the preventive relief of Intelligence Officer III Paul Oliver Pacunayen, chief of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Field Station at the Port of Manila, for allegedly allowing illicit shipments to pass through the country’s premier port.
The BOC said additional punitive measures, particularly within the intelligence division, were likely as investigators were looking into accountability.
“I have no choice but to relieve him,” Nepomuceno said, underscoring the seriousness of the allegations and the need to shield the investigation from internal interference.
Pacunayen was identified in a letter sent to President Marcos by concerned Customs officials, employees, and industry stakeholders.
The letter alleged a disturbing resurgence of large-scale smuggling at major ports, particularly in Manila, despite supposed intelligence coverage.
According to the whistleblowers, several questionable shipments were released despite having been flagged, raising concerns over possible collusion involving intelligence personnel tasked unscrupulous traders.
The same letter also tagged CIIS director Thomas Narcise, a former Task Force Aduana operative.
Nepomuceno said Narcise’s case is “a different situation” since he was a presidential appointee, adding that any action involving his office would follow established legal and administrative processes.
Nepomuceno ordered a full-scale internal investigation into the alleged smuggling network, focusing on whether the CIIS, long regarded as the BOC’s frontline defense against illicit trade, was compromised, bypassed, or weaponized to protect smugglers instead of stopping them.
The probe, to be led by Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Romy Rosales, will scrutinize intelligence-handling procedures, coordination between CIIS units and port collectors, and the possible administrative and criminal liabilities of Customs officials and intelligence operatives.
Pacunayen’s relief was tentative and does not yet imply guilt, he said.
The BOC said the intensified internal cleansing drive aligns with the Marcos administration’s broader push to dismantle smuggling networks, protect state revenues, and restore public confidence in frontline revenue institutions.
