Business · Philippines Bureau
Remulla dismisses claims PNP-HPG officers ordered to retrieve smuggled cigarettes
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla has characterized allegations that Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group officers were instructed to retrieve smuggled cigarettes from a Bureau of Customs facility as unfounded speculation.
LSN Philippines ·
MANILA — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Wednesday rejected claims that PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) officers involved in an alleged raid at a Bureau of Customs (BOC) facility were ordered to retrieve contraband cigarettes from the location.
Remulla described such assertions as "conjecture," pushing back against allegations that have circulated regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident at the BOC premises. The Interior chief's statement comes as questions persist over the nature and purpose of the operation.
The dispute centers on whether HPG personnel were deployed with the specific objective of removing smuggled cigarettes that authorities had seized. The allegations surfaced amid broader scrutiny of coordination between police and customs officials in handling contraband cases.
Remulla's dismissal of the claims suggests the administration intends to move past the controversy, though the incident has drawn attention from observers monitoring law enforcement operations and inter-agency procedures in the Philippines.