IT’S Easter. A time for Catholics to rejoice for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And a time to celebrate for the rebirth of our Savior and hope. Thus, for my column this week, I will discuss an interesting topic about Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and about hope rising at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), which I chair, recently had a call on Lapeña. In that meeting, we presented to the commissioner a letter of appreciation for his efforts to raise revenues and curb smuggling and corruption at the ports, citing, among other reasons, his determination to eliminate benchmarking which is illegal, and his strict implementation of the “one-strike policy” for key Customs officials who fail to meet their collection targets.
Already, several district collectors down to section heads have been reassigned or reshuffled for failing to meet their targets. Supposedly to deter collusion and avoid familiarization between Customs officials and importers, it seems like Lapeña’s strategy is working well. The BOC is now surpassing its collection targets.
We also presented to Lapeña the compilation of my earlier columns about the antidotes to smuggling, which came out in this paper. He candidly acknowledged that the compilation can help the bureau in its anti-smuggling campaign. He is not only sensitive to issues and receptive to suggestions, but most importantly he is righteous and knows what’s best for the government. The qualities, indeed, of a real and honest public servant.
We discussed about an earlier FPI proposal to then-Customs Commissioner Napoleon L. Morales, for the BOC to assert its compulsory acquisition power on grossly undervalued shipment, but which Morales never considered. Should this the BOC mandate be implemented, importers would no longer undervalue their shipment as they would lose a lot of money if their shipment is seized, and later bought by the government based on its undervalued declaration. With our offer to help the bureau in the sourcing of funds for its compulsory acquisition program, Lapeña could now be studying his options.
We also discussed how the voluntary disclosure provision of the law can be exploited and maximized for its purpose, if only to collect the right duties and taxes. While the purpose of the voluntary disclosure provision is noble, which is to give a chance to importers who may have erred, in good faith, their declared values, the way, however, the voluntary disclosure provision was being implemented by some corrupt Customs officials only lined their pockets, instead of the government gaining from it.
These Customs officials made it a policy that importers who have received a notice of audit, but with no indicated specific date of audit yet, can still avail themselves of the voluntary disclosure program. This procedure or policy, whatever it is, practically made a mockery of the voluntary disclosure provision of the law. For all intents and purposes, the notice actually served as a warning to importers with grossly undervalued shipment to come across certain arrangements with these Customs officials. If only to avoid being charged for technical smuggling.
The BOC should be clear and strict in the implementation of its voluntary disclosure program and that, the moment a notice of audit is sent to an importer, that importer can no longer avail himself of the voluntary disclosure program. After all, voluntary disclosure, to my understanding of the law, would mean the importer himself/herself discovered the undervaluation in good faith, and volunteers to settle with the government the tax deficiency.
We could have talked a lot more about smuggling and trade facilitation with Lapeña, but the few hours we had with the commissioner enabled us to understand the man, his vision and purpose in life. The meeting with Lapeña, on a personal note, gave me a reassuring thought that finally, there is hope for real change at the BOC.
Kudos Commissioner Lapeña. We are inspired by your dedication and commitment for reforms. And we’ll be here anytime you need help in your crusade for reforms and real change at the BOC.
For my next column, I will discuss another interesting topic about Department of Energy Secretary and Philippine Electricity Market Corp. Chairman Alfonso G. Cusi, a principled man who has not only served various administrations, but most important, has always been a real public servant.