Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Newly-installed Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon is proposing higher pay for employees of revenue generating agencies like the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to help them fight “temptations.”
While they welcome a lifestyle check on Customs officials, Biazon said it would also be unfair to expect these people to be poor by not giving them the right compensation that they deserve.
“Aside from calling for lifestyle checks, maybe we should also consider a raise in the salary for employees of revenue generating agencies like the Customs and the BIR,” Biazon said over the phone on Wednesday.
”Are we expecting them to be poor people because they are in these agencies? Keeping them poor will only open them up to temptations. We should give them appropriate compensation to lessen the temptations,” he said.
Biazon cited for instance a Custom examiner, who only gets a less than P20,000 pay a month.
“With the volume of money going through the agency, the temptation is high,” Biazon said.
While it was expected that those involved in revenue generations should have a high degree of integrity, the Commissioner pointed out that people are also weak when faced with temptations.
“This is just my personal observation that it would help them resist the temptation if their needs are adequately met,” he further said.