600 AFP, PCG personnel going to Customs

MANILA, Philippines — About 600 personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) would be augmenting the Bureau of Customs (BOC) workforce in the next six months in a bid to put a stop to smuggling activities. 

Yesterday afternoon, BOC Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, AFP chief of staff Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. and PCG commandant Admiral Elson Hermogino signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that would serve as the foundation of their cooperation. 

On Oct. 25, an irate President Duterte ordered the AFP and the PCG to take over the BOC, and ordered all Customs officials and personnel “out” of the agency because an alleged P11 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) placed inside four magnetic lifters slipped past x-ray machines at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in July.

This resulted in the removal of former Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña and raised concerns of “militarization” in the bureau. 

The MOA signals the start of a collective action for capacity-building, monitoring, support mechanism, exchange of information, operating protocols and parameters and to channel resources for research and develop effective strategies.

Guerrero noted that there had been previous partnerships with the AFP but this time it would be of a “larger scale and wider scope.”

The AFP would provide intelligence, technical and legal assistance to the BOC.

“For now we cannot say that no one will be replaced because everybody is being subjected to a performance review. What we are after is efficiency and effectiveness in fulfilling our mandate so there is no guarantee that no one would be replaced,” Guerrero said.

Since BOC personnel manning the x-ray machines failed to detect a large quantity of shabu last July, a soldier would be assigned to assist them when scanning container vans.

“The AFP personnel who would help would not be new. The AFP has an x-ray technician; they have a radiological technical personnel. So it is just a matter of orientation and refined training that would be suited for the job that they would do,” Guerrero added.

The BOC’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force and the AFP’s Task Force Noah would also be tapped to prevent the entry of illegal drugs. 

Guerrero added that they have not yet discussed the possibility of an extension to the initial six-month operation. The length of the military’s service at the BOC would depend on their success in the next six months, particularly in the aspect of eradicating corruption and improving revenue collection. 

For his part, Galvez assured his former AFP boss, Guerrero, of their full support.

“The AFP welcomes the partnership with the BOC and PCG… we will make history together and shape the future” in preventing illegal activities in the BOC, Galvez said.

“The success of the BOC will be our success… the failure of the BOC would be the failure of the AFP,” he added. 

Galvez described Guerrero as the strictest of all chiefs of staff in the AFP, but he was also kind. He gave Guerrero authority to utilize the military’s intelligence, operations, Intelligence Service of the AFP and legal department. 

He said the AFP was also ridden with graft but they were able to transform the organization. 

Galvez added that they would be deploying to the BOC persons of integrity and if the BOC receives a complaint against any of their soldiers, such as conniving in smuggling activities, “we would discipline (and if found guilty) definitely discharge (them) from the service.”

As agreed in the MOA, the AFP will retain disciplinary administrative and court-martial jurisdiction for offenses committed by military personnel in the performance of their duties based on authorization deputization issued by the BOC.

On the part of the PCG, Hermogino said they have prepared 80 of their personnel who have background in customs administration to be deployed to the BOC. 

They would also be donating five units of 11-meter fast boats to the BOC. These vessels, to be donated by a non-government organization based in Europe, might be built in Sri Lanka.

The vessels are expected to arrive in the second quarter of next year.

Hermogino is hoping that the BOC would wave the payment of duties and taxes since these would be turned over to the bureau. 

Under the MOA, the PCG would assist in the enforcement of laws on fisheries, immigration, tariff and customs, forestry, firearms and explosives, human trafficking, dangerous drugs and controlled chemicals and transnational crimes.