GMA names PASG deputy as OIC

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has appointed an officer-in-charge to the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) after PASG chief Antonio Villar Jr. filed a leave of absence amid a legal battle on the agency’s legality.

Mrs. Arroyo appointed retired police general Danilo Mangila, who is currently Villar’s deputy in the PASG.

Villar said he has filed a leave of absence earlier this week to allow him to focus on his other job as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), which has a fixed term of six years.

The PASG chief earlier hit Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Silvino Pampilo Jr. who ruled that President Arroyo’s Executive Order 624 creating the PASG was unconstitutional.

The decision followed a lawsuit lodged by a suspected big time diamond smuggler, Alpha Kwok, who was arrested by PASG agents last year with over P250 million worth of diamonds.

Villar accused Pampilo of abuse of authority and the Office of Solicitor General vowed to raised the matter before the higher courts.

He denied that his leave of absence was connected to the case.

“I have to concentrate on my job as DDB head because that carries a Cabinet rank,” he said.        – Paolo Romero