Lawmaker urges Duterte: Take over BOC

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo yesterday urged President Duterte to take over the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in the wake of the controversy surrounding the release and subsequent seizure of P6.4 billion worth of shabu.

“I think only the President can strike fear and sense of honesty at the BOC and on smugglers once he assumes the post of commissioner in a concurrent capacity,” Castelo said.

The BOC “is in such a huge mess, and corruption has become both systemic and systematic, that no less than an iron hand is needed to restore order and honesty in the agency,” according to the lawmaker.

“As the clamor for the head of Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon is not about to subside, the President should seriously consider taking over as concurrent Customs chief,” he said.

Castelo added that as soon as the President does take over the BOC, he could crack the whip and compel bureau officials and employees to follow the law or be fired at once.

“This is the only way we can clean up the bureau, short of abolishing it, removing all its officials and employees and creating a new agency,” Castelo stressed.

“The situation is bordering on hopelessness and we cannot afford to let it go on. We have to stop this senselessness once and for all,” he said.

‘Silver bullet’

Meanwhile, Rep. Lito Atienza of party-list group Buhay has filed a bill seeking to require prior inspection abroad of all shipments destined for the Philippines.

“All merchandise imports should be physically examined and valued at the port of origin, before the shipment leaves for the Philippines. This is one sure way to prevent the entry of illegal drugs and other contraband into the country,” he said.

“Mandatory pre-shipment inspection is our ‘silver bullet’ against the monsters of smuggling. It is also our best antidote to the poison of systemic corruption at the BOC,” he said.

He said his Bill 6220 calls for “the compulsory advance clearance” of all foreign cargo headed for the Philippines.

Under the bill, the exact nature of all Philippine-bound commodities, to include their quality, quantity and prices, would have to be checked and verified at the country of origin, before the goods are put in containers and loaded onto ships.

The BOC has been reeling from accusations that crooked officials turned a blind eye to the 604-kilo shabu shipment from China that was later seized from a warehouse in Valenzuela City by Customs agents after the Chinese Customs Ministry issued an alert.

“Pre-shipment inspection is beneficial to everybody. Government will collect higher duties. Legitimate importers will avoid costly product defects and get shipments faster without having to haggle with corrupt BOC agents,” Atienza said.

There are only three groups of people that have historically resisted pre-shipment inspection, he said.

“Those opposed to our proposal are the BOC officials who stand to lose their hefty cuts from the usual misdeclaration or undervaluation of imports; the dodgy traders who will be compelled to cough up the correct duties and taxes; and of course, the politicians moonlighting as ‘padrinos’ of shady merchants,” he said.

Atienza’s bill seeks to amend Section 440 of Republic Act 10863, or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), which Congress passed only in February 2016.