R43.8 B lost to BOC corruption; officials who get R7.7 B to be charged

THE government lost 143.8 billion in revenues in one year due to massive graft and corruption activities at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), disclosed the House of Representatives.

So much government revenues down the drain.

*** But corrupt Customs officials and personnel amassed over 17.7 billion in grease money over the same period, the House added.

So much grease money or “tara” into their pockets.

*** The revenue loss, covering the period July, 2016, to July, 2017, was revealed by the House Committee on Ways and Means in its 82-page report.

The inquiry into the recent smuggling of P6.4-billion high-grade shabu also led to the discovery of massive corruption, the creative acts of bribery, and the inefficiency at the BOC, the House said.

*** The committee asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct a deeper investigation into the case for the possible filing of criminal and administrative charges against former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and 47 other Bureau of Customs men and private individuals.

Confirm the crime, charge the culprit.

*** “In this regard, it is not surprising that the bureau missed its collection target by 110 B during the first seven months of 2017, it being able to collect only 1246.98 B of its 1257-billion target,” the committee concluded.

Corruption breeds collection shortfall. *** The 75-man House committee recommended the abolition of the BOC to pave the way for the creation of two separate agencies that would divide the main mandate of the customs bureau.

Recommendation: Agency split and division of labor.

*** House committee chairman Quirino Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua said they propose the creation of the Bureau of Security Control that will exercise police authority over all ports, inspection, and monitoring of cargoes and border control, among others, and the Bureau of Customs Services that will handle assessment and collection duties.

BOC should be broken into BSCBCS, they said.

*** The House panel claimed that key BOC officials and personnel assigned to sensitive posts in the bureau “conspired” with unscrupulous importers and customs brokers to evade customs duties and other requirements.

The anatomy of corruption and tax evasion at the ports.

*** The House committee has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct investigations for the possible filing of administrative and criminal charges against former BOC chief Nicanor Faeldon and 47 other BOC officials and private individuals.

Administrative and criminal charges poised.

Further investigations , the House added, should focus on at least nine offenses, including violation of Republic Act 9165 (Dangerous Drugs Act) for delaying and bungling the prosecution of drug cases, graft, violation of the Customs Code, and gross neglect of duty.

BOC “binukbok.” Heads to roll for customs violations to shabu smuggling.