EDITORIAL - Ports of entry, exit

The government is still trying to verify whether Alice Guo and her supposed siblings Shiela and Wesley truly fled the country by boat last July. Shiela, whose real identity according to Philippine authorities is Chinese citizen Zhang Mier, was arrested in Indonesia last month together with Alice Guo’s business partner Cassandra Li Ong.

Shiela told the Senate that she and her siblings were picked up from their farm in Bamban, Tarlac by a van, which drove for about five hours to a place she could not identify, but which authorities suspect was Sual in Pangasinan where Alice reportedly has a business enterprise. There they boarded a “small white boat.” From this boat, which must have been a speedboat, Shiela said they transferred to a bigger one that looked like a fishing vessel, which sailed for about four or five days before they again transferred to a smaller green or blue boat that brought them to Malaysia.

If this escape by boat is true, the executive director of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission says it highlights the problem of regulating seaport operations in an archipelago of about 7,640 islands. PAOCC chief Gilbert Cruz points out that even private beach resorts can set up makeshift ports where small boats can dock or set sail with passengers and cargo.

Cruz, a retired police general who worked with the Dangerous Drugs Board, said such ports have been used for bringing in prohibited drugs and other contraband. In the country’s major seaports, there are personnel from agencies including the Philippine Ports Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Quarantine and the Bureau of Immigration. But there are smaller ports where not all those agencies are represented. And there are even smaller ports where only local government units or barangay offices have a presence.

While all seaports are supposed to be registered with the PPA, even some LGUs that operate such facilities for fishermen and inter-island transport don’t bother with this. LGUs may also ignore the requirement for private owners of beachfront properties.

Since the loopholes can be identified, they can be plugged. The national government can work with LGUs in tightening the monitoring of any spot that is used as a seaport. Perhaps the country’s extensive coastline cannot be completely covered, but it’s possible to tighten the regulation. Technology has allowed greater surveillance of public areas. The government can’t afford to do nothing; the escape of Alice Guo showed the urgency of keeping a close watch on seaports.