Alcazaren assumes post as acting Cebu Customs chief

Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon designated lawyer Paul Alcazaren as the officer-in-charge of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Port of Cebu replacing former collector Edward de la Cuesta in a memorandum dated Sept. 30.

Alcazaren, the former Sub-port Collector in Mactan, assumed his post yesterday afternoon and promised to try his best to hit the P2 billion collection target for the last quarter of the year.

Biazon’s memorandum designated Alcazaren to lead the BOC Port of Cebu being most senior office in BOC-Cebu.

“It was a surprise for me. I did not expect this to happen. I also don’t know the plans of my higher ranks,” he added.

There were 17 appointed OICs who were order to assume their post in different ports after the recent issuance of a freeze revamp.

Collector Ricardo Belmonte was earlier designated to head BOC- Cebu but he failed to report.

On Sept. 25, both Dela Cuesta and Belmonte were ordered to assume their permanent plantilla position which means, Dela Cuesta will be assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) while Belmonte will be assigned at the Cebu port.

However, last week, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima issued an order assigning all district collectors 5 and 6 to the Department of Finance (DOF) cluster on revenue generation.

In an interview yesterday, Alcazaren said he is still expecting more movements in the bureau.

He also said that he does not want the changes to hamper the operations in the Port of Cebu.

For the month of September, their target collection was more than P 746 million but they have more than P1 billion collection.

“Even if we don’t have public auctions, with the grace of our God, we hit the target for the past nine months,” he said.

Alcazaren said it is the first time that BOC-Cebu is headed by a full-blooded Cebuano.