Customs bans nepotism in appointments

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is in the process of implementing reforms on the agency’s manpower.

Aside from hiring 1,056 personnel, Customs Commissioner John Sevilla is trying to clean up the agency by implementing a policy against nepotism in appointments.

The BOC recently came out with Customs Administrative Order (CAO) No. 03-2014, to discourage the rank-and-file from turning the BOC into a family affair, which can lead to corruption.

Under the rule, relatives of current officials up to the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity can not be appointed to any post in the agency.

In a statement, Sevilla yesterday said the issuance of the anti-nepotism rule is “a step in the right direction as we try to wipe out the culture of corruption that has plagued the bureau since time immemorial.

“I am not saying that those with relatives working in the bureau are corrupt but we are eradicating any suspicion on our employees,” Sevilla said.

He said the policy will prevent conflict of interest in the performance of BOC employees’ duties and responsibilities.

“We have made progress in our fight against corruption, like in the filing of administrative cases against 16 BOC employees. Now we are implementing policies that will further nip corruption in the bud,” he said.

The BOC is also hoping that the regulations would promote a culture of equal opportunity, meritocracy, impartiality, integrity and professionalism among the bureau’s ranks.

(CAO) No. 03-2014 also states that all existing employees in the same office, service or section who are related to each other within the fourth degree of consanguinity shall be reassigned or transferred to a separate office, service or section subject to specific guidelines to be promulgated by the commissioner and applicable with Civil Service laws.

With the effectivity of the order, persons applying for a position in the bureau would now be required to disclose under oath, in their application, the identities of relatives working in the BOC.

Just recently, the BOC posted 1,056 vacant positions. A total of 6,013 applied for the various posts.

“This number included new applicants and existing BOC personnel who are applying for promotion,” BOC spokesperson Charo Lagamon said.

She said knowing that over 6,000 people are interested to work in the bureau was “a good sign.”

The applications are now undergoing preliminary screening to determine if all the minimum qualifications like education, experience, training and eligibility of the position applied for were met.

Those who pass the initial screening would be notified by the BOC through text message or email between Aug. 18 to 24.

They will be required to take the pre-employment and general ability examination to be conducted by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on Aug. 31.

Once they pass the CSC exam, the applicants would also take the aptitude and psychometric tests to measure their personality, interest, aptitude and values.

The BOC said this would help the bureau in eliminating future employees who are susceptible to graft and corrupt practices.

The new BOC hiring process is in line with the revised guidelines and procedure in the hiring and promotion of personnel for first and second level positions under Customs Memorandum Order (CMO) 15-2014.

The CMO aims to simplify the guidelines, widen the sphere of selection as well as clarify the procedure for applicant screening to get the best qualified applicants for the bureau.

The BOC has around 3,600 employees, half of its actual plantilla size of about 7,000. Hence, most employees are tasked to do double duties.

The lack of manpower is further aggravated by natural attrition like retirement, death and dismissal from service.