BOC collectors to be axed if targets not met

NEwly-appointed acting Customs Commissioner Filemon Ruiz vowed to “replace” district collectors who will fall short of their assigned revenue targets as he said the president ordered him to improve the bureau’s revenue generation.

Shortly after a turnover ceremony at the Bureau of Customs last Monday, Ruiz said this would be among the policy directives he will pursue as the new chief of the government’s second-biggest tax collection agency and tasked to collect P733 billion this year.

“Right now, the collection districts are performing at an all-time high so why fix something that is not broken?,” Ruiz told reporters in a news conference. “But one of the policy directives that we will be implementing: we will be providing them their target revenue for the month. And if they could not hit their target revenue, then [they should] expect to be replaced with someone who can hit the target.”

Replacing district collectors who failed to hit their targets was also done under the watch of former Customs chief Isidro S. Lapeña. He was later transferred by President Duterte to head the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) amid the P11-billion shabu smuggling issue.

Apart from increasing revenue generation, Ruiz said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. also ordered him to eliminate drug, gun and agricultural smuggling. He said Marcos also ordered the full automation and digitalization of Customs processes.

To curb smuggling in the country, the new customs chief said they are eyeing to improve some of the bureau’s processes, which he said can lead to a “drastic increase in detecting smuggled goods.”

However, he refused to give further details, saying he “doesn’t want to telegraph” his “punch” to smugglers. He assured these changes will be discussed with key officers of the agency.

He also issued a stern warning against those who will digress from the goals of the agency, saying the BOC will dish out a “lawful and rightful punishment.”

“Pasensyahan tayo kung along the way, may hindi mag-fulfill. I have to do my job. I do not need please anyone. I only need to please one and that is the President,” he said.

Before replacing Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero as BOC Chief, Ruiz was the head of the agency’s Enforcement and Security Service for almost five years since 2017 wherein he spearheaded several enforcement projects and handled operations that contributed to the bureau’s anti-smuggling campaign.

He also previously served as the Regional Director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for seven years in different regions nationwide.

“As I can say, I am an insider of the Bureau of Customs,” he said. “I have seen the gaps where we need to improve, doing system changes or process changes in those areas, we can eliminate corruption in those areas.”