Cebu traders welcome Sept. Customs revamp

Cebu business group leaders welcomed the impending revamp of customs collectors across in the country.

The revamp will take effect on Sept. 1, said Cebu district collector Edward dela Cuesta yesterday.

He said he was only waiting for the memo from the office of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima although the impending revamp was announced earlier this month by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

In a press statement, Philexport Cebu executive director Fred Escalona said if the Bureau of Customs appoints people with integrity in their ranks, it will benefit major stakeholders especially the export and import sectors which always transact with BOC.

Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph agreed.

“But I really hope it will not just be a case of the same dog different collar,” Joseph said.

Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Philip Tan said a change was timely.

“We need to run the government like a business where incompetence has no place in its operation,” he said.

Bosconian Chamber International president Ludwig Federigan called it a “welcome development.”

“The rotation should not only involve the district collectors but also key people of the Bureau,” Federigan said.

He said the BOC should install mechanisms in order to avoid a situations where key officials become too familiar with stakeholders in a particular district.

“There are times when familiarity alone breeds corruption. I see no greater impact on business with the impending revamp. The private sector is always adaptable and cooperative to the changes of the district offices,” he said.