EDITORIAL - Banning nepotism

Anti-corruption laws ban nepotism in government appointments and the award of contracts. The Bureau of Customs, however, has found it necessary to issue an administrative order expressly prohibiting the hiring of anyone related up to the fourth degree of affinity or consanguinity to BOC officials and employees.

The order was issued as the bureau received 6,013 applications for 1,056 job openings announced recently. The administrative order requires all applicants to declare relations by blood or marriage up to the fourth degree to any BOC employee.

If the order is properly enforced, it will be a welcome development in a bureau that continues to be ranked in surveys as one of the most corrupt government agencies. While implementing the order, the bureau should also intensify its housecleaning, which includes stopping people from using family or friendly ties with BOC personnel for smuggling and evasion of proper Customs fees.

If reports are correct, such illegal activities are not confined to BOC personnel. Relatives and cronies of influential public officials also engage in smuggling. Ruffy Biazon, shortly before he was made to quit last year as Customs commissioner, dropped broad hints that such activities did not stop under the daang matuwid administration.

Corruption thrives on red tape and inefficiency. One of the biggest reasons for the continuing near-paralysis in Manila’s seaports has to be the desire of crooked BOC employees to collect “facilitation fees” at every step of clearing cargo. The more steps they can impose, the bigger their earnings. While family ties within an agency do not necessarily breed corruption, having relatives to protect the flanks of crooks can only aggravate corrupt activities.

The slow cargo processing at BOC, which started even before the Christmas season last year, has resulted in the current pileup of thousands of shipping containers at the international and domestic ports of Manila. With no place to unload additional containers, the congestion has also led to ship crowding in Manila Bay.

Corruption is not the only culprit in the slow processing; Customs officials say the agency is undermanned. Hiring additional personnel is in line with BOC efforts to improve efficiency. The campaign to clean up the bureau can start at the recruitment stage.