THE Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is poised to open an inquiry into the fire that broke out at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) main headquarters in Manila in late February, just as the agency was busy resolving the operational problems contributing to ports congestion which businesses have been complaining of.
Sen. Richard J. Gordon, the Blue Ribbon panel’s chief prober, said on Sunday, however, they still need to fix the date for the initial committee hearing on the Customs fire incident. Given the BOC’s operational failures that have been blamed for worsening ports congestion, some quarters had worried that vital BOC records on duties due the government may have been damaged by fire.
“Not yet,” Gordon told the BusinessMirror over the weekend when asked to confirm if the Blue Ribbon panel has scheduled a hearing date to assess the extent of the BOC fire damage.
The senator gave assurances that the Blue Ribbon panel will look into the matter even as Congress is still in recess, adding that they just needed to gather relevant facts about the fire incident.
He indicated that committee probers were already in the process of outlining the course of inquiry, after which they would line up resource persons who will be summoned to testify at the hearing.
While Congress has adjourned and will not resume regular sessions until May 20, Gordon clarified that the Blue Ribbon Committee is empowered to convene and call for hearings motu propio, or even without any resolution filed by a senator and referred to the Blue Ribbon, during the long congressional break.
“We just need more time to gather the facts about the matter,” Gordon added.
Earlier, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III also told the BusinessMirror there was no obstacle to a motu propio inquiry by the Blue Ribbon, despite the congressional break. Sotto said the way the Blue Ribbon worked, no referral was necessary from the plenary. “Puwede hearing anytime, [A hearing may be called anytime], especially Blue Ribbon,” he told the BusinessMirror.
The fire occurred at the BOC’s main headquarters at the port of Manila, just as the agency’s officials were reaching out to stakeholders who had raised serious concern over the months-long congestion—partly blamed on operational failures at Customs, and partly on the failure of shipping lines to take out promptly empty containers from the dockyard.
At least two key initiatives by stakeholder—shipping lines, port operators Asian Terminals Inc. and International Container Terminal Services Inc. and logistics groups—had been hailed by Customs as notable contributions in the effort to resolve the congestion.
The ports congestion’s impact on trade and commerce was acknowledged by no less than the National Economic and Development Authority.