New chief says civilians still control BOC
RETIRED general Rey Leonardo Guerrero, newly appointed chief of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), clarified that there will be no militarization and civilian officials will continue to control the bureau.
In a press conference after he officially assumed the post as Customs commissioner on Wednesday, October 31, Guerrero said the civilian officials will still call the shots.
“Let us first correct ‘yung impression that there will be a militarization of customs,” he said.
“As I’ve explained, ‘yung directive ni President to have military people, personnel from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to assist the Customs is not a militarization process. Clearly the officers of the Bureau of Customs will still be in control of the operations and activities of the bureau,” Guerrero told reporters.
Guerrero was appointed to the BOC after former Customs chief Isidro Lapeña was relieved and named as the new chief of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority amid the congressional investigation into the missing shabu shipment worth P11 billion.
Guerrero is the third to lead the BOC under the Duterte administration.
During his speech at the turnover ceremony Wednesday, Guerrero said that efforts against corruption in the agency will be decisive and unrelenting.
He asked customs employees to trust him, adding there is a lot of work to be done to regain the trust of the public in the agency.
Last Sunday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he will assign military men to take over BOC functions.
In a verbal directive, Duterte placed all Customs employees on floating status and required them to report directly to the Office of the President.
The move was met with criticisms, with opposition legislators saying that Duterte’s decision is unconstitutional.
Guerrero said he will discuss with Finance Secretary Cesar Dominguez III and other officials the details of the deployment of military personnel.
He said he wants a “seamless” transition from civilian officials to military personnel.
Guerrero said President Duterte advised him to choose people with integrity and with a high-learning curve amid corruption issues in the bureau. (SunStar Philippines)