They never saw it coming. Nor did it ever cross the mind of Bureau of Customs officials that one day, they will wake up to a morning of uncertainty and virtually out of job as the entire operation of the BOC is taken over by the military, upon the order of the President.
But I would not blame President Duterte for blowing his top. He may have run out of patience when smuggling at the BOC became even more rampant and blatant, especially when large volumes of illegal drugs started slipping out of Customs gates.
Malfeasance at the BOC has practically been institutionalized that its system of corruption has outlived commissioners and even presidents. Thus, Duterte’s appointment of former AFP Chief of Staff and Marina Administrator Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero to replace Isidro S. Lapeña at the BOC after allegedly P11 billion worth of shabu slipped through Customs gates recently, and the military take over of the BOC’s operations, would be the first-ever total overhaul of the second, if not the first, most corrupt government agency in the country. This does not mean that Lapeña and Nicanor Faeldon are guilty. As the President said, it’s the system that’s the problem at the BOC.
Already, the country is losing more than P200 billion worth of duties and taxes each year due to smuggling. These monies could have been used to construct more roads, school buildings and hospitals for the Filipinos. However, these monies have ended in the pockets and bank accounts of smugglers and corrupt customs officials.
And since the common concern of Filipinos today regarding the military takeover at the BOC is that its assigned military personnel would have problems familiarizing themselves with the way transactions are done at the BOC, we in the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI)—knowing as a matter of survival that, this will not only hamper the flow of imported raw materials for our factories, but more important, the situation could be exploited by the smuggling syndicates operating at the Bureau—would like to offer our help to the new customs leadership in assisting its assigned military personnel, if only to help facilitate the unhampered flow of imported raw materials to our factories and the export of our finished products to the world market, as well.
Moreover, we would like to help the assigned military personnel at the BOC so that they will not be given the run-around by smuggling syndicates operating at the Bureau. We are bound to our commitment and advocacy to help protect the local industry from unfair competition posed by the influx of cheaper but lower quality illegally imported materials and finished products. We are also morally obliged to help protect consumers from substandard imported materials. And most important, as law abiding Filipino citizens, we find it our responsibility to help the government from being duped of its much needed revenues from duties and taxes on imported goods due to smuggling.
For starters, we shall provide the new Customs leadership a copy of the series on the antidote to smuggling, which I wrote as FPI chairman. The anti-smuggling series where its findings and recommendations are all based on the actual experiences of our members and by our assigned technical experts at the BOC to help Customs officials in determining the standard specifications and classifications of imported raw materials and finished products, also saw print in this newspaper. We find the opportunity to help the assigned military personnel at the BOC very timely as they are all coming in fresh. Their appreciation of Customs procedures are still free of biases and the influence of smugglers or “players,” as they call themselves at the BOC.
For decades, we have seen how corrupt Customs officials and smugglers have made a mockery of all the reforms introduced at the BOC. As new methods are formulated to address corruption and smuggling at the BOC, smugglers and corrupt Customs officials for their part, are stepping up their illegal operations to be ahead of the government’s anti-smuggling campaign.
Thus, the FPI commits its 100 percent support to the new Customs leadership, if only to help establish law and order at the BOC. The members of FPI and the industry sector are, therefore, hoping for the BOC to favorably consider our offer to help.