New Customs chief: I’m up to the challenges

Newly installed acting Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales is ready to face the challenges that come with his appointment — including smuggling charges against him and a whopping P202-billion collection target for the Bureau of Customs (BOC) next year.

"I am accepting the challenge," Morales said in an interview with The STAR. "When I was appointed, I told President Arroyo that she gave me this position, so I will deliver."

Morales will officially take over the BOC top post on Jan. 2, replacing outgoing Customs officer-in-charge Alexander Arevalo.

He also said he has been tasked by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to make sure the BOC meets its P202-billion collection target for the next fiscal year.

The BOC’s target collection for 2006 is 34 percent higher compared to the revenue target it had set for this year, which was P151 billion.

Under Arevalo’s leadership, the agency collected at least P135 billion. The outgoing acting Customs commissioner has implemented several measures to help the BOC meet its collection target for this year, including extending the bureau’s operations in the country’s ports during weekends and holidays.

As for Morales, his task is more challenging because average corporations, both private and government-owned, will face the difficulty of a five-percent increase in annual duties levied by the BOC.

He has created a "game plan" for boosting the BOC’s collection efficiency, but added that he will reveal these proposals in detail when he takes over the BOC helm next week.

Morales also said he will reassess Arevalo’s programs and see if they have been effective and helpful in achieving the BOC’s main goal: "If we see that these existing programs are useful, then maybe they can help us achieve our target."

The new BOC chief also vowed to be serious in his campaign against the perceived graft and corruption in the agency: "This is a perennial problem. We will deal with it down the line because that’s a crucial part to achieve our goal. We have to get rid of even the simplest corruption to increase collection."

Morales has appealed to other sectors, including the media, to help the BOC achieve its goals under his leadership and to avoid casting aspersions on the agency.

His appointment was met with controversy over the issue of technical smuggling charges filed against him by anti-smuggling groups led by Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes.

Although his name was cleared of the charges by the Office of the Ombudsman, which reviewed profiles of candidates for the appointment of Cabinet members, there are still some quarters that challenge him to prove his innocence: "I was informed that a clearance from Ombudsman was a requirement for the appointment. Now that I am here, it’s obvious that I am innocent of those charges."

The BOC head said the charges against him were dismissed because they were "mere lapses in interpretation of our highly technical laws in the bureau."