Palace appoints NDRRMC director to customs bureau
President Marcos on Monday swore into office Ariel Nepomuceno as the new Bureau of Customs (BOC), replacing its head, Bienvenido Rubio, who earlier submitted his courtesy resignation.
Before his new assignment, Nepomuceno was the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) undersecretary after his appointment in December 2022.
This is not his first appointment to the BOC, which is tasked with combating smuggling and illicit trade and is constantly plagued by allegations of widespread corruption within its ranks.
Before serving in the NDRRMC, Nepomuceno was assistant commissioner of the BOC’s Post Clearance Audit Group from December 2017 to April 2018 and deputy commissioner of the Enforcement Group from December 2013 to February 2017.
He later tendered his courtesy resignation from the BOC to give way to the new head of the agency, Isidro Lapeña, who succeeded Nicanor Faeldon. But in November 2017, he was reappointed to the BOC by then President Rodrigo Duterte.
In February 2018, he again officially resigned from the agency to take care of his business and return to the private sector. He held the positions of CEO and chair of Orion Powers Holding Corp.
Nepomuceno also served as director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the OCD under the Department of National Defense from December 2012 to March 2013, and as a consultant at the Office of the President in 2003.
In the early 2000s, he reportedly held executive positions at Food Terminal Inc. and Avalon Pacific Corp., where he started his career as vice president for operations in 1997.
Nepomuceno is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1987. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of the Philippines in 1989 and also completed an Executive MBA program at the Asian Institute of Management.
PCO chief denies exit
On the other hand, another government official, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Jay Ruiz, downplayed reports of his impending exit, saying he continues to “serve at the pleasure of the President.”
In an interview, Ruiz brushed aside rumors that he was to be reassigned to the Presidential Action Center (PAC), which is also within the Malacañang compound in Manila.
He declined to comment on the unconfirmed reports, saying only that “whatever happens, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity.”
The former broadcast journalist was reappointed by Mr. Marcos on June 16 as acting PCO chief after the Commission on Appointments failed to deliberate on his appointment before it adjourned sine die on June 13. —WITH INQUIRER RESEARCH
