A P1-million reward will be given anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of those behind the ambush of Customs deputy commissioner Atty. Arturo Lachica, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
A private individual whose identity DOF did not reveal is offering the cash reward. The agency said the identity of the would-be informant would remain strictly confidential.
Those who have any information relevant to Lachica’s case can contact either head executive assistant Marc Gregory Crisostomo or technical assistant Alddon Christner Ang of DOF at (63) 523-9215 and 523-9219.
According to the Manila Police District report that Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon furnished the DOF, Lachica was on his way home to Caloocan City on the night of November 17 on board a Toyota Altis with two BOC contractual employees—his driver Romulo Dumaua and bodyguard Ramon Hernandez—when a masked suspect appeared from behind the vehicle along España Avenue near the corner of Kundiman Street in Sampaloc, Manila and shot Lachica several times with a handgun.
The official was rushed to the nearby United Doctors Medical Center, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Lachica was in charge of the BOC’s Internal Administration Group (IAG).
NBI probe
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II last week ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an investigation into Lachica’s ambush.
Also in a statement last week, Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon condemned the killing and promised to cooperate with authorities in identifying the persons responsible for his death.
“Just yesterday (Nov 16), he was very active in our roadmap discussions,” Faeldon recalled, adding he has ordered a thorough probe into those responsible for Lachica’s death.
“I have instructed both our intelligence and enforcement units to assist and provide open and full support to investigating agencies,” Faeldon said.
In a press conference on Nov 18, Faeldon said BOC will provide authorities with CCTV footage of Lachica on the day of the ambush.
Faeldon declined to speculate on the possible motive behind the ambush and said he would rather let authorities do their jobs. He acknowledged, however, that Lachica had received death threats, but noted these were “normal” in their line of work.
The Philippine flag at BOC offices is at half-mast to show respect for Lachica.
“I am optimistic that the truth, as well as the perpetrators of this heinous crime, will soon be exposed,” Faeldon said.
Lachica was a holdover official from the previous administration, having been first appointed to this post by former customs commissioner John Sevilla in 2014. In July 2015, he was designated deputy commissioner for the revenue collection monitoring group, and was active in filing cases against smugglers and those involved in illegal and misdeclared importations. He was reassigned as deputy commissioner of IAG in July 2016.
The IAG handles allocation of the agency’s budget; procurement of resources; personnel management and development; planning and performance management.
Prior to working at BOC, Lachica, a lawyer and certified public accountant, was deputy executive director at the Career Executive Service Board. Before this, he spent six years at the Civil Service Commission, where he rose through the ranks and became regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, while teaching law at the Notre Dame University College of Law in Cotabato City.
Lachica, who would have turned 59 this month, is survived by his wife and two children.
