Malacañang is confident the Bureau of Customs (BOC) can erase its ‘one of the most ‘corrupt government agencies in the country’ tag by the United States (US) State Department by citing its sweeping reforms to clean up its ranks of illegal practices.
In a press briefing last Tuesday, Palace Press Office Claire Castro said the BOC is now coordinating with the American Chamber of Commerce and the US Embassy to relay the said initiatives to ‘reinforce transparency, accountability and professionalism’ among its personnel.
Under the leadership of BOC Commissioner Ariel F. Nepomuceno, she said BOC has banned any conflict of interest among its professionals by ensuring they are not engaged in business or financial interest with customs brokerage within the fourth civil degree by affinity and by consanguinity.
The revenue-generating agency was also able to digitize 96.99 percent of its transactions and process through its online initiatives which includes Overstaying Cargo Tracking System, Enhanced e-Travel System and ATA Carnet Monitoring.
The report to the US entities also included BOC’s achievements forfeiting overstaying cargoes.
‘So, with this report, we think and can expect that the US State Department’s response will probably be positive,’ Castro said.
In its report released last month, the US State department disclosed that the US Embassy in Manila has received reports from American businesses, which claimed that they were being asked for bribes by customs officials.
This prompted the US department to describe BOC as one of the most corrupt agencies in the country.
Anti-corruption initiatives
The Marcos administration has initiated measures to improve the reputation of the government to the public including conducting ‘independent’ lifestyle checks, which was ordered by the President for government officials and personnel last August.
It was initiated as the concerned government agencies launched investigations on anomalous flood control projects.
Castro said the initiative is now being spearheaded by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
As for problematic public works, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) created last month leads the probe on the said matters.
When asked about the Palace reaction to the growing public frustration on the apparent slow pace of the filing of charges by the ICI against erring government officials and personnel involved in substandard, non-existent or overpriced public works, Castro urged Filipinos to be patient with the three-man fact-finding panel.
She noted that the ICI is just making sure that the case it will file will be airtight.
‘This cannot be rushed. Because if you file charges just to achieve [high numbers], it will end up being dismissed by the courts,’ the Presidential Communication Office Undersecretary said.
Castro said ICI has already said it may soon file its first case after a week or week four [since its creation].