EDITORIAL - Perceptions

Employees of the Bureau of Customs wore black armbands and shirts the other day in protest against accusations, notably from President Aquino, that their agency is one of the most corrupt. The President, however, merely expressed a widespread perception, as consistently reflected in national surveys on corruption.

The harsh words in the President’s fourth State of the Nation Address led to offers of resignation by three key BOC officials – one rejected and two still under consideration by Malacañang. Customs collectors have also relinquished their posts, as ordered by their chief.

Skeptics doubt that a reshuffle will cure the ills that have plagued the BOC for decades. Smugglers and their coddlers in the bureau always seem to manage to stay a step ahead of every reform effort, including computerization. They have been helped along by the scrapping of pre-shipment screening services in ports of origin as well as the gray areas governing the entry of imported goods into special economic zones.

It is good that ordinary BOC employees are hurting over the accusations of corruption. They can channel their indignation toward assisting authorities in implementing the necessary reforms. A mechanism can be put in place to allow reform-minded employees to provide leads anonymously to authorities about the rotten eggs in the bureau. The leads can be pursued discreetly to avoid accusations of persecution or a witch-hunt.

All agencies have honest, dedicated and competent workers. Like other agencies perceived to be among the most corrupt, the problem of the BOC is that the rotten eggs seem to outnumber the good ones. Without proof, BOC employees can dismiss this as an unfair, inaccurate perception. Public perceptions, however, are not shaped from air. Something is badly wrong in the BOC. If its employees want to improve the image of the bureau, they should lead the way in cleaning it up.