THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) said its officials are ready to face a congressional inquiry into the alleged resurgence of large-scale tobacco smuggling in the country. “BOC is ready to cooperate with the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee. From Day One of Commissioner [Ariel] Nepomuceno’s term as customs commissioner, the BOC has been relentless in its anti-smuggling campaign, including that of illicit tobacco,” Customs Assistant Commissioner and concurrent spokesman Vincent Philip Maronilla told The Manila Times. Besides Nepomuceno and Maronilla, Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo, the panel’s chair, said they have also invited to the hearing Deputy Commissioners Romeo Allan Rosales (Intelligence Group), Nolasco Bathan (Enforcement), Agaton Teodoro Uvero (Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group), and Revsee Escobedo (Management Information Systems and Technology Group); Port of Manila District Collector Alexander Gerard Alviar; Port of Batangas District Collector Carmelita Talusan; and Manila International Container Port District Collector Rizalino Jose Torralba. Maronilla said the matter is also the subject of an ongoing internal investigation ordered by Nepomuceno amid reports of the involvement of some officials of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS). Nepomuceno has relieved the chief of the CIIS at the Port of Manila, Intelligence Officer III Paul Oliver Pacunayen. Pacunayen and CIIS Director Thomas Narcise were among the officials mentioned in a letter sent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by customs officials, employees, and stakeholders last Dec. 11. Quimbo filed last week House Resolution 636 seeking a congressional probe into the Philippine National Police’s seizure on New Year’s Eve in Batangas and Malabon of a total of 32 trucks allegedly carrying smuggled cigarettes worth approximately P2.6 billion. Quimbo said the PNP Highway Patrol Group’s apprehension of the smuggled cigarettes “confirms that organized cigarette smuggling remains a serious national problem that requires urgent action.” The lawmaker said the intercepted items correspond to P875.16 million in tax revenues that the government would otherwise have collected based on the 2026 tax rate. He noted that the government lost an estimated P25.5 billion in excise taxes due to illicit tobacco trade in 2023 alone, based on a report by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The House probe will review current enforcement systems, coordination among agencies, and existing penalties to determine whether these remain sufficient to deter large-scale illicit tobacco trade.