EDITORIAL - New man at Customs

As he had promised, President Aquino replaced Angelito Alvarez as Customs commissioner the other day. And public speculation proved accurate: Rufino Biazon, former Muntinlupa congressman, was named as replacement.

Biazon will have to overcome perceptions that his appointment is just the latest case of political accommodation for the candidates of the President’s Liberal Party who lost in the 2010 elections. In a statement accepting his appointment, Biazon promised to quickly initiate reforms in Customs systems and procedures as well as organizational structure. He vowed to boost morale and improve the image of the bureau that is consistently ranked in surveys as one of the most corrupt government agencies.

If Biazon succeeds in cleaning up the bureau, he will achieve something that has seemed impossible in this country. The collapse of the Marcos dictatorship did not end corruption, and the Bureau of Customs retained its notoriety in the years after the 1986 people power revolt. Every administration, it seemed, either had a cabal that controlled smuggling, or else failed to stop it. Some of the most notorious smugglers have succeeded in laundering their ill-gotten money into hugely profitable businesses. In several areas of the country, political kingpins control smuggling through porous ports, with their allies in the national government looking the other way.

Rampant smuggling has been a complaint for many years of businessmen who play by the rules. From onions to fuel to motorcycles and luxury vehicles, smuggled goods pose unfair competition and unsettle markets. Millions in earnings that should go to government coffers instead end up in individual pockets.

Despite skepticism that anyone can make a difference in fighting smuggling, a new Customs chief raises hopes for change. Biazon may not eradicate smuggling completely. But merely plugging opportunities for corruption in the bureau, through changes in systems and procedures, can go a long way in minimizing smuggling. There will always be efforts to circumvent these changes, but a determined and competent Customs chief can stay one step ahead of smugglers and their coddlers.