Manila: The Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) has taken administrative action by relieving 13 of its personnel, including the National Capital Region (NCR) chief, following an uncoordinated raid that resulted in a tense confrontation with Bureau of Customs (BOC) agents at a warehouse in Bulacan.

According to Philippines News Agency, PNP-HPG Director Brig. Gen. Rommel Batangan announced through a news release that the relief was effective from August 20 to facilitate an impartial investigation into the incident. The officers relieved from their positions include HPG-NCR chief Col. Joey Tomas Caise, Lt. Col. Carlo Lo±osa, Maj. Romar Exile, Senior Master Sergeants Dennis Ancheta, Jake Balberde, and Bryan Castillo, Corporals Melvin Habbiling, Edrick Semilla, and Reneboy Sumbilon, along with Patrolmen Gabriel Capellan, Jeffrey Carilo, Bill Anthony Estrada, and Andrew Marzan.

The confrontation unfolded last week when HPG operatives, dressed in civilian clothes and armed, descended upon the Bulacan warehouse, disrupting a legitimate cigarette incineration operation by frisking uniformed customs personnel. The standoff was eventually resolved with intervention from BOC officials. It was later revealed that the raid was a result of operational confusion, as the HPG operatives mistakenly targeted the wrong location within the area.

In a phone interview, BOC Chief of Staff and spokesperson Chris Noel Bendijo labeled the incident as "unacceptable," emphasizing that it could have been avoided with proper coordination.