THE ‘X-Ray Inspection Project’ (XIP) of the Bureau of Customs (XIP-BOC) has a new chief, in the person of retired admiral, Ernesto Enriquez.
Enriquez, who is among the retired military officers brought in by Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero when took office in October 2018, took over the post of Ben Entico last June 25, according to deputy commissioner for intelligence, Raniel Ramiro.
An insider said Guerrero removed Entico from his post for being “unable to carry out some instructions” the customs chief wanted for the XIP.
The source however, was silent on what are the “instructions” that Entico allegedly failed to implement.
The XIP is among the most crucial units of the BOC as it is in the frontline of implementing its mandates of combating smuggling and trade facilitation.
Under Pres. Duterte, two of his previous appointees as customs chief, Nicanor Faeldon and Isidro Lapeña, were forced to face repeated grilling by both chambers of Congress over the issue of smuggling, including the smuggling of illegal drugs, over the failure of the XIP to discharge its obligations properly and with the expected level of probity.
Prior to his promotion, Enriquez has acted as deputy to Entico, who has been transferred to the bureau’s ‘Customs Monitoring Unit’ (CMU), the source added.
The CMU is also known as the bureau’s “Naval Division” as those assigned to it are on ‘floating status,’ usually while they are undergoing investigation.