PASG head to attend House hearings

Presidential Anti Smuggling Group (PASG) and Task Force Subic head Antonio Villar Jr. said he would be attending the next hearing of the House Committee on Good Government set on April.

In a telephone interview, Villar told The Manila Times that he would be attending the next congressional hearings but clarified that it was not the because of Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay invited him. Villar said it was Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo, the committee chair, who invited him.

“I don’t know why they (some congressmen) are so angry with me. What I know is smugglers are the ones mad at me,” Villar said.

The PASG is under fire from some congressmen because it allegedly has functions duplicating the Bureau of Customs.

“Our work is very much different from Customs. We do not execute documents, and most of all, we don’t allow smugglers to smuggle goods,” Villar said in Filipino.

Villar also questioned as to why congressmen should be angry with him since it was not him, but President Gloria Arroyo, who created the anti-smuggling task force.

The PASG head wanted to resign last month, but was reportedly stopped by the President. It was during the height of Villar’s heated exchanges in the media with Magsaysay and Albay Rep. Al Francis Bichara that he revealed his intentions to resign.

“The President questioned why I was resigning,” Villar said, adding that Mrs. Arroyo told him he was doing a good job. By Anthony Bayarong, Manila Times