Bulacan: The Bureau of Customs (BOC) welcomed the filing of the complaint by the Philippine National Police - Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) in connection with the standoff during the raid of a warehouse in Bulacan containing allegedly smuggled cigarettes.

According to Philippines News Agency, Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno noted that the filing of the complaint will provide the proper avenue to clarify the circumstances, establish the facts, and allow due process to take its course. The BOC is likewise conducting its own internal investigation, which was promptly initiated following the August 19 incident in Sta. Maria town, involving BOC - Port of Subic personnel conducting a lawful condemnation activity and personnel of the PNP-HPG.

Nepomuceno maintained that he will not tolerate misconduct within the bureau and that any personnel found, after due investigation, to have violated the law or abused their authority will be held fully accountable and subjected to the appropriate administrative, civil, and/or criminal sanctions. At the same time, the bureau said that all parties concerned must be afforded due process and that any findings must be based on facts and evidence.

The BOC vowed to continue to fully cooperate with the PNP-HPG and other concerned authorities. In a seven-page complaint filed on August 28, Corporal Melvin Habbiling of the HPG cited the affidavit of alleged middleman Jesus Froilan Acebes Carpiso, who identified BOC Special Agent Lucky Joy "Joy" Solmayor and BOC Technical Support Staff Alexander "Alex" Arroyo Jr. as among those present during the raid.

In his affidavit, Carpiso stated that Solmayor and Arroyo were present at the Bulacan warehouse when the Regional Highway Patrol Unit - National Capital Region (RHPU-NCR) conducted the raid. He identified both BOC personnel as the individuals who allegedly received the payment in exchange for 225 boxes of allegedly smuggled Red Carnival cigarettes during the entrapment.