Nograles to Guerrero: Declare former aide ‘persona non grata’ after Duterte rant

Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles on Wednesday called on Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero to declare his former chief of staff Teodoro Jumamil as a “persona non grata” in the bureau after the latter was called out by President Rodrigo Duterte as a corrupt BOC official.

This is to ensure that Jumamil “can no longer assert any amount of influence over his former office and other stakeholders.” the congressman said.

“To ensure that all illegal transactions that Jumamil allegedly facilitated when he was with the Bureau of Customs is completely stopped, and for the Office of the Ombudsman be given the free hand to investigate the allegations against him by no less than President Duterte, I believe that Commissioner Guerrero should declare Jumamil a persona non grata,” Nograles said.

In a taped speech aired Tuesday morning, Duterte said he had considered replacing Guerrero for his failure to get rid of an alleged corrupt BOC employee.

During the address, Duterte named and cursed at Jumamil for working at the BOC while serving as director at the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

Guerrero reportedly fired Jumamil in July 2019 due to allegations of corruption.

“This very grave allegation by no less than the President must be taken seriously,” Nograles said.

“Guerrero should take immediate action or he too will become a suspect. He should immediately declare Jumamil persona non grata and should not be allowed to enter any Customs facility pending the investigation against,” he said.

“Commissioner Guerrero should issue a simple memo to all including all port operators and brokers warning the public on transacting with Jumamil. This will show the commitment of the Commissioner to follow the call of the President,” Nograles added.

Nograles said that Jumamil’s name has been notorious for quite some time now especially when he was appointed as Guerrero’s chief of staff despite his reputation.

“I recall directly asking the Customs Commissioner in a hearing last year if Jumamil is active in Customs and he said no. Unfortunately, no less than the President called this out and I’m glad he did because he was projecting an impression that he was a president’s man,” he said.

“This action of the President should repudiate this belief and people should help the government build a case against him,” Nograles said.

Nograles said Guerrero should also prove that he is prepared to do whatever it takes to defeat corruption at the BOC by providing the Ombudsman full access of Jumamil’s transactions while was still with the bureau.

By doing so, Nograles said that Guerrero can prove that he is not covering up for Jumamil.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)