MANILA - President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed 3 new deputy commissioners to the Bureau of Customs, including a former port district collector who was sacked over the entry of billions of pesos' worth of illegal drugs inside magnetic lifters.

Raniel Ramiro, Vener Sia Baquiran and Donato Belmonte San Juan were appointed as deputy commissioners on March 6, 2019, appointment papers signed by the President showed.

BASAHIN: Pang. Rodrigo Duterte, nagtalaga ng tatlong bagong deputy commissioners sa Bureau of Customs | via @joycebalancio pic.twitter.com/nSZeLpmpLV

— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) May 25, 2019

Baquiran, a former Manila International Container Port district collector, was sacked by former Customs chief Isidro Lapeña in 2018 over 2 incidents of drug shipments concealed inside magnetic lifters.

In January, the National Bureau of Investigation lodged violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, dereliction of duty and administrative complaints against Baquiran and other port officials for their failure to file charges against the consignees, importers and brokers of the drug-tainted magnetic lifters that slipped past Customs.

• NBI files criminal, admin raps vs Lapeña, some 50 others over alleged drugs in magnetic lifters

Prior to their recent appointment, former Brig. Gen. Ramiro served as the acting head of the Customs' Intelligence Group, while San Juan was the deputy commissioner for the Customs' Internal Administration Group.

San Juan was a retired lieutenant general who headed the Philippine Military Academy before his stint at the BOC.

- with a report from Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News