President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to shut down delivery courier firm J&T Express over alleged mishandling of packages.
The President in a televised address late Tuesday tasked the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to investigate J&T Express.
“There’s one (company) over which I often receive complaints. You better shape up. I’d like you to know that I’m ordering now the CIDG… and the NBI to investigate you and the BIR to look into your finances,” Duterte said, speaking partly in Filipino.
“This J&T, as you have seen on TV, they’re throwing around packages that might have been broken or spoiled. Or they got something from them or switched items,” he added.
Duterte then issued a warning: “Because of the so many complaints, I will close you down. That’s for sure. I will close you down — whether you like it or not — after the CIDG and NBI finish their investigation and point to you as having a liability.”
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A video of some J&T express personnel throwing packages inside its delivery truck went viral in social media.
The courier service earlier assured the public it could hold their staff in the video responsible for mishandling packages and not following health protocols.
“We have already identified all the involved personnel in the video. Proper sanctions will be given to them accordingly,” read the post from its official Facebook page on Monday.
“We have received complaints on the mishandling of parcels, as shown in a viral video, circulating on social media. We would like to reiterate that we do not tolerate such acts and behavior, and we humbly take responsibility for this incident,” the company said.
J&T Express added, “We would also like to assure the public that this is an isolated case. All of our facilities, including our branches and warehouses across the country, are under 24/7 monitoring. We also follow strict protocols in handling the shipments and ensure that these are handled with proper care.”