Customs Intel Director Replaced?
By former ISAFP chief
THE director of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), has been reportedly replaced by another retired military general.
According to informed sources, Dir. Jeoffrey ‘Jeff’ Tacio has been placed on ‘floating status’ at the office of deputy commissioner for intelligence, Ranier Ramiro.
Sources said his replacement would be retired Philippine Army major general, Erwin Bernard Neri, a former chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces (Isafp).
Neri was a “junior” of Comm. Rey Leonardo Guerrero and Ramiro at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) who were both graduates of PMA Class of 1984, with Neri being a product of PMA Class of 1988.
Pinoy Exposé tried to get a confirmation from both Ramiro and Tacio but got no reply as this paper went to bed on Sunday evening.
Tacio joined the BOC during the term of Comm. Isidro Lapeña, having served with Lapeña at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Lapeña was appointed customs commissioner in August 2017, replacing Nicanor Faeldon, Pres. Duterte’s first customs commissioner. Faeldon was removed over a drug scandal.
Neri, on the other hand, was also appointed to the Isafp by Pres. Duterte in late 2018, after his predecessor, Lt. General Macairog Alberto, was promoted as Army chief.
After another drug scandal during Lapeña’s term broke out in 2018, Tacio is among the customs officials summoned repeatedly at the Senate to answer questions related to the incident.
At one point during the hearings conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee jointly with the Committee on Illegal Drugs, Tacio had a heated verbal exchange with customs intelligence agent, Jimmy Guban, who accused Tacio of corruption, an accusation that Tacio vehemently denied.
Guban is now behind bars after being tagged as part of a Customs-PDEA syndicate facilitating the entry of illegal drugs thru Customs.
