Customs revamp expanded

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon: Expanded reshuffle. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The reshuffle in the Bureau of Customs (BOC), targeted to be completed within the month, will not be limited to port collectors but will cover many more positions believed to be prone to corruption.

This was disclosed by Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, who told reporters that the BOC has expanded the reshuffle to also cover deputy collectors, appraisers, examiners and people involved in cargo clearance operations, among others.

“I gave instructions to deputy commissioners to do a reshuffle… We are going down the line [from port collectors to employees with lower ranks],” Biazon said.

He said this after announcing a few days ago that the BOC has asked port collectors to relinquish their posts to give way to a reshuffle of assignments to be completed this month. Some port collectors already have complied with the directive.

The reshuffle is one of the measures intended to address the perennial problem of corruption in the agency, which President Aquino strongly criticized in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last month. The President said reforming the agency to significantly curb corruption will be one of the priorities of his administration in the last three years it has.—Michelle V. Remo