PASG chief relieves aide involved in parking altercation

Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) chief Antonio Villar Jr. maintained yesterday that he will not condone any wrongdoing committed by his subordinates, some of whom have recently figured in altercations in public.

Villar issued the statement after some of his security aides reportedly beat an unruly customer in one of the rest rooms of the Dusit Hotel in Makati City last week.

He said he fired one of his personal aides after the latter figured in a minor parking altercation in front of a restaurant along Tomas Morato Street in Quezon City last week.

He said he fired Marino Piramo despite the fact that he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the police in a parking altercation with a parking attendant and three other customers at the Bamboo Grill restaurant.

“Because of the Dusit Hotel issue, that minor incident became another hot issue even though Piramo had simply exercised his right. Nevertheless, I fired him to show the public that I am not condoning my men,” Villar said.

Villar stressed that he has been constantly changing his officials to cleanse his ranks of misfits. Last year, he fired at least three PASG field directors  because of some derogatory remarks on them.

He reiterated his stand that he will not intervene in the ongoing investigation against some of his security aides linked to the Dusit Hotel incident.

“I made it clear to my men right from the start that I will never, never condone any wrongdoing on their part. I leave it to the investigators to determine if my men are liable to some criminal charges,” Villar said.

“This is the reason why I rarely comment on the issue to avoid public perception that I am protecting my men  if they have done something wrong. I only asked the media to be circumspect in this issue,” he said.

The parking altercation in Quezon City involving Piramo occurred past midnight in front of the Bamboo Grill restaurant where Piramo parked his van to buy food for a late supper. The parking boy however reportedly signaled him to give way to an approaching Honda CRV with three men on board, prompting Piramo to confront the parking attendant.

Piramo said he found it uncharacteristic for the parking boy to give preferential treatment to the Honda CRV when he was the first to occupy the lone parking space. The attendant reportedly answered in a very rude manner.

The incident drew the attention of some bystanders and the police arrived. It was while at the police station that investigators learned that Piramo was Villar’s aide.