BOC lifestyle check drive branded ‘press release’

Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

IF CUSTOMS Commissioner Alberto Lina’s recent call were to be believed, the day of reckoning might be at hand for customs personnel “openly living lavish lifestyles.”

Lina on Wednesday called on the public to help in the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) campaign against smuggling and corruption by reporting customs personnel who are “openly living lavish lifestyles.”

“We are calling on the public to be the bureau’s active partner in our drive against smugglers and erring officials and employees,” Lina said following the recent launch of the BOC’s Public Assistance and Complaint Desk (PACD).

“Public servants have to make good their civil service oath [of] leading a modest lifestyle,” the customs chief said in a statement.

“If you know of, or see, officials from our bureau [living contrary] to this, then by all means file a report with us through [social media] channels so we can initiate investigations,” said the head of the Department of Finance-attached agency.

For information on BOC personnel who may be living lavish lifestyles or are engaged in graft and other illegal practices, the public may reach the PACD by e-mail ([email protected]), Twitter (@CustomsPH),” or through Tel. No. (02) 705-6052, Lina said.

‘Press release’

Some BOC insiders, however, shrugged off Lina’s call as “just another press release,” citing their chief’s alleged failure to stop the collection of “tara”—or bribe money—by some corrupt BOC officials and unscrupulous personnel from traders in exchange for the prompt release of misdeclared or undervalued imported items.

Deputy Customs Commissioner Jessie Dellosa has earlier said that paying tara has become a “fact of life” at the BOC, and that the illegal practice has become “embedded in the culture” of the bureau.

In a report to President Aquino, the former Armed Forces chief of staff said the anomaly had “ingrained within the bureau a culture of indebtedness to customs players, smugglers, brokers and other clients, resulting in institutionalized arrangements of graft and corruption.”

The collection of tara has also “emerged as a more attractive and convenient motivational incentive for some frontline personnel,” as well as the agency’s “institutionalized source of work-related expenses,” Dellosa said, citing the BOC’s operational requirements such as travel expenses like petroleum, oil and lubricants, as well as telecommunications.

Dellosa also explained that the tara issue “cannot be addressed from within the BOC only, as importers and brokers also benefit from the perpetuation of the illegal practice.”

Willing victims

Added the BOC official: “As willing victims in many instances, the attempts [of importers and brokers] to misdeclare, misclassify or undervalue importations provide the opening for unscrupulous customs personnel to exploit the defects of their shipment.”

Lina’s call Wednesday included consumers who were asked to report suspected smuggled items being sold in local malls, markets and online stores.

“Please report them to our official channels so our front-liners can immediately address them,” the customs chief said, adding that the public may also report problems with BOC frontline services in the bureau, the ports and airports.

“If your customs duties or taxes were not properly explained to you when you’re collecting your parcel or shipment, report it to us so our staff can assist you,” Lina said.