Smile! Customs folk now on camera

Aiming to promote transparency in its operations, the Bureau of Customs (BOC), one of the most graft-ridden agencies in government, on Thursday conducted a soft launch of a livestream of its offices.

The public may now view the goings-on  inside the BOC through the internet, the bureau said in a statement.

The online streaming is controlled by the bureau’s CCTV command center, which receives images from around 40 cameras installed inside and outside the BOC main building, including Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon’s office.

“We are now online. The public should expect everyone at BOC to be seen,” Faeldon said in a statement.

For now, only cameras within the main BOC building may be seen in the command center and in the livestream.

The bureau’s Management Information System and Technology Group promised  to have its system working  in the next few days. It also vowed to remove the log-in system soon to enable more viewers for the livestream.

A total of 94 cameras have been installed but are yet to be set up for livestream in other areas such as the Port of Manila, Manila International Container Terminal and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The livestream may be accessed through public IP address 119.92.124.28, and may be viewed by anyone, both on computers and smartphones with internet access.

The BOC said that, for now, only 10 users at a time are allowed to log into the system through username guest1 (up to guest10). The password for all user names is password123.

After logging in, the system will prompt the user to download a browser plug-in to view the livestream.