The House Committee on Ways and Means is set to summon top officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), led by Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno, as part of its inquiry into large-scale tobacco smuggling and its impact on public health and government revenues.
Committee chairperson Rep. Miro Quimbo of Marikina City’s 2nd District confirmed that the panel will also invite Deputy Commissioners Romeo Allan Rosales (Intelligence Group), Nolasco Bathan (Enforcement), Agaton Teodoro Uvero (Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group), Revsee Escobedo (Management Information Systems and Technology Group), Assistant Commissioner Atty. Vincent Philip Maronilla (Post Clearance Audit Group), as well as District Collectors Alexander Gerard Alviar (Port of Manila), Carmelita Talusan (Port of Batangas), and Rizalino Jose Torralba (Manila International Container Port).
Quimbo earlier filed House Resolution 636, which calls for a congressional investigation following the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) seizure of 32 trucks loaded with smuggled cigarettes valued at around ₱2.6 billion in Batangas and Malabon on New Year’s Day.
Nepomuceno has since ordered a separate probe into the resurgence of smuggling, amid allegations that some members of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) may be involved.
He has already relieved Intelligence Officer III Paul Oliver Pacunayen, chief of the CIIS at the Port of Manila. Pacunayen, along with CIIS Director Thomas Narcise, was named in a letter sent to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. last December, which also identified a customs broker allegedly engaged in agricultural smuggling across several ports, including Subic, Manila, Batangas, and Cebu.
In his resolution, Quimbo stressed that the PNP Highway Patrol Group’s interception of the contraband “confirms that organized cigarette smuggling remains a serious national problem that requires urgent action.”
He noted that the confiscated shipment equates to ₱875.16 million in lost tax revenues based on the 2026 tax rate.
The committee’s probe will examine current enforcement systems, inter-agency coordination, and existing penalties to assess whether these measures are sufficient to deter the illicit tobacco trade.