Customs under Ruffy Biazon is doing a Tuwad na Daan

I don't know what happened to Ruffy Biazon. He targetted journalists in his first month or so as Customs Commissioner, what is he trying to imply that all journalists covering his agency are corrupt and he even said that gone are the days when journalists do their fly-by-night operations at the Customs? That the practice of "orbitting" at the Customs are near ending.

The question that everybody is asking Ruffy Biazon is simple--how's your revenue targets? Are you achieving that?

How's your fight with the corruption inside the agency? Any director of customs involved in corruption charged in court? It has been, what, one or two months? Nothing is happening with the President's directive for you to cleanse the agency of misfits and corruption.

Rampant smuggling happens right under the very noses of Biazon. Fact is, some even charge that Biazon himself commits some low level corruption.

Biazon wants media or journalists to stop "orbitting" his agency--the right thing to ask is simply, how about your men, Mr. Customs Chief? When will you ask your men to stop orbitting the homes and houses of big-time smugglers and stop meeting players at the Customs to cheat us, the Filipino People, of billions of pesos of Customs duties?

I hope this is not true but one of the "players" inside the Customs told several newsmen, including this writer, that Biazon has asked the "players" to give ten million (10 million pesos) every week as "taripa" to him. Ten million pesos are considered lower than the usual grease money given to politicians or to Customs chiefs. It's like loose money.

Notice that the Customs is really very "silent now" because people who claim to represent Biazon and even Deputy Commissioner Danny Lim are doing the rounds, so to speak, asking players and smugglers to "pay homage to the new leadership".

I am totally disappointed with the way things are going on in that agency. Even Danny Lim's name is being dragged to issues of corruption. A source told several media men of a certain Allan Paje reportedly representing Danny Lim. Paje reportedly gets the goods for the general. How true?

Meanwhile, talk about Biazon is percolating even in ritzy coffee shops visited by Pnoy. Do you know, says an old habitue, a long time player in the game of politics, that Biazon's mother is also involved in talking with the "custom's players"? There was, according to this man, a meeting held where "cooperation" was asked or requested by the Customs chief. Same thing with General Lim. According to this old man, highly respected in political circles, that General Lim and his associates reportedly conducted a meeting at Teacher's Village with these players in the Customs.

Seems like the tuwid na daan is now becoming tuwad na daan.

Let me ask the handlers of both these fine gentlemen, Danny Lim and Ruffy Biazon, to give their sides. This space, along with several others of my blogs, will give ample space for them to answer these nasty things people are accusing them of.