Customs beefs up internal policing of ranks

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has intensified its internal controls to weed out corrupt and errant employees following the arrest of an employee and his cohort at the Manila International Container Port for attempting to extort bribe money from an importer.

“We will not tolerate corruption and misconduct at the bureau. If we want a credible Bureau of Customs, we must ensure that our people act with integrity,” said Customs Commissioner John Sevilla.

The bureau’s Intelligence and Enforcement groups, under Deputy Commissioners Jessie Dellosa and Ariel Nepomuceno, respectively, intensified operations to detect corruption at the BOC and hold involved employees and officials liable.

Investigations will be based on tips and information received from the bureau’s transacting public as well as employees and officials who pose significant risk to the service as a result of their on-duty or off-duty behavior.

Last May 23, operatives of the bureau’s Intelligence Group, in coordination with the Philippine National Police, arrested Freddie Castro Ruba, an employee assigned at the office of North Harbor Port Collector Rene Agulan; and Rafael Reyes Sevilla, a casual worker at the BOC-North Harbor, on charges of robbery and extortion following an entrapment operation.

Ruba had allegedly demanded P15,000 from businessman Rodencio Brillantes to release his shipment, a 20-foot container van of bihon and canton noodles from Cebu, prompting the latter to complain to Dellosa.

On top of criminal cases, Ruba could also face administrative sanctions for violating the BOC Code of Conduct for employees and policies governing civil servants.

“Let this be a warning to all that we are serious about the campaign against corrupt officials. We want to reverse the chronic corruption in the bureau and hold our own people accountable for their actions,” Sevilla added.

At least 82 BOC employees are currently under investigation for alleged collusion with suspected smugglers. The agency, as part of its massive reform program, has also included a comprehensive and coordinated approach to ferret out corruption.

These include mining IT systems to detect fraud and misconduct, review of processes to eliminate discretionary decisions and clear guidelines for transactions and valuation disputes.

“We would also like to appeal to the transacting public to help us in this effort by formalizing complaints, and giving us verifiable details and leads that our internal investigators and supervisors can validate. There are procedures we need to follow in disciplining our personnel and we enjoin you to help us in this regard by documenting the misdeeds. We will protect the confidentiality of your reports.” – With Evelyn Macairan