BOC commissioner vows zero smuggling in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines – Bureau of Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez yesterday vowed to stop smuggling in the ports here.

In a press conference during the Port of Cebu's 124th Founding Anniversary yesterday, Alvarez said he will fight smuggling with a "clenched fist."

"Smuggling will not be a good venture anymore," Alvarez said.

He said it is about time that smugglers and their cohorts at the BOC, as well as brokers, who connive in the smuggling activities, are punished.

Alvarez said eliminating smuggling in Cebu will help ensure that BOC will meet its P280 billion target for the year. BOC was able to collect P120 billion in the past six months for which Alvarez commended BOC-Port of Cebu district collector Ronnie Silvestre.

"Cebu can do it and Cebu is a barometer for any successful initiatives. I am confident that we can meet the target at the end of the year," Alvarez said.

Meanwhile, Alvarez assured that Silvestre will stay put as the district collector in Cebu amid his good performance in the bureau.

"The collector has a good performance and I see no reason why he should be replaced. But for those who are not performing, they will be guided accordingly," the commissioner said.

Meanwhile, in a report, BOC's X-ray Inspection Project said it has facilitated the release of thousands of containers without human intervention.

Moreover, by paying only $5.00 (roughly P250.00) per twenty equivalent unit (TEU) as x-ray scanning fee, importers or brokers can already save substantially compared to paying the P7, 000 stripping fee.

Lawyer Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, head of the said project, said in her report that it only takes around 15 minutes for the x-ray scanning process to be completed as compared to the physical examination that reaches up to a day to finish.

Mangaoang cited the historical roots of the X-Ray Inspection Project which could be traced to the creation of an elite unit called the Task Force X-ray organized after BOC accepted a donation of a mobile x-ray van for cargo inspection from the Societe Generale de Surveilance, Inc. (SGS) in May 1993.

To effectively use the newly-acquired equipment at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, former Customs Commissioner Guillermo Parayno organized the Task Force X-Ray composed mostly of officers and personnel coming from the Enforcement and Security Service, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service and the Assessment Division, who were all rendering part-time duties in the Task force, in addition to their respective regular work assignments at the NAIA Collection District.

Mangaoang said the task force made significant accomplishments in apprehending prohibited and regulated cargoes including the discovery of eight kilos of heroin, seizure of highly-dutiable assorted pieces of jewelries and the discovery of five kilos of heroin.

She said that because of these remarkable performances by the task force and the effectiveness and efficiency shown by the equipment in detecting contraband items, Parayno initiated a move to acquire more state-of-the-art equipment in cargo examination with a long term vision to institutionalize the equipment as part of the bureau's organizational and operational set-up. (THE FREEMAN)