Recall of customs men to reduce collections, says regional exec

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Customs chief Ruffy Biazon’s order recalling customs personnel to their original units or positions is to take a heavy toll on the collections of the regional offices of the Bureau of Customs, a regional official of the agency here said.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday, Southern Mindanao deputy collector for operations Edward James Dy Buco said collection performance was forecast to suffer a reduction of about 60 percent in the next two months as a result of the implementation of Customs Personnel Order No. B-134-2013.

The BOC Southern Mindanao office has an average collection of between P15 million and P20 million a day.

Biazon issued the order as part of the reforms being implemented at the agency, which is widely seen as one of most graft-ridden government agencies.

The first batch of employees affected by the order were Supervising Customs Operating Officers  and Customs Operations Officers III. They were recalled to their original posts starting September 13.

The second batch of recalled personnel were Chief Customs Operations Officers and Customs Operations Officers V.

Under Biazon’s order, all BOC employees were expected to be back to their respective permanent positions within the next few days.

“The CPO (Customs Personnel Order) has a big effect on operations and collections,” Buco said.

He said that aside from collection, the BOC Southern Mindanao’s exports division was also affected by the order.

The assessment-related job of the  division is now being carried out by a trimmed down manpower complement, Buco added.

“Among the most affected is the assessment works in the exports division, where about 70 percent of employees were lost due to the CPO,” he said, adding that from a high of 23 employees, the division now has five personnel.

Buco described the export division as a crucial component of the BOC’s operations.