294 criminal cases filed versus smugglers under Duterte admin

CEBU, Philippines —   The anti-smuggling program of the Bureau of Customs, in coordination with other government agencies, has resulted in the filing of a total of 294 criminal cases with a dutiable value worth P17.984 billion from 2016 to 2021 for violations of Republic Act No 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

The bureau announced this as part of its accomplishments over the recent years.

BOC said that in pursuit of transparency and border control, the Revenue Collection Monitoring Group through the Bureau of Customs Action Team Against Smugglers of the Legal Service, intensified its efforts against erring importers and customs brokers who violated customs laws, rules and regulations.

 BOC also ordered the revocation of Customs accreditation of 690 importers and 220 customs brokers as they were found to have violated some laws in 2021 alone.

Atty. Vincent Philip C. Maronilla, spokesperson and Assistant Commissioner, discussed the bureau’s accomplishments during the recently concluded 2022 Media Fellowship Meeting via Zoom Teleconference.

The discussion focused on the achievements of the BOC in terms of its mandates of revenue collection, border protection, and trade facilitation.

Atty. Noemi A. Garcia, Acting Chief of the Planning and Policy Research Division, shared the accomplishments under the 2021 10-Point Priority Program, and the 10-Point Priority Program for 2022.

The Priority Programs for this year include (1) Implementation Of Customs Computerization Program (2) Enhancement Of Learning And Development Program (3) Full Operationalization And Promotion Of Authorized Economic Operator Program (4) Implementation Of Customs E-Commerce Program (5) Sustainment Of Integrity And Quality Management System (6) Enhancement Of Trade Facilitation (7) Improvement Of Revenue Collection Through Non-Traditional Sources (8) Enhancement Of Employee Welfare Program (9) Implementation Of Organizational Restructuring and (10) Enhancement of Performance Management System.

Meanwhile, in line with its application for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Certification, BOC-the Port of Cebu recently conducted an ISO 9001:2015 Awareness Seminar for its employees.

Gladys B. Cabugawan, Assistant Head and Internal Quality Auditor of the Interim Internal Quality Management System Office (IIQMSO), conducted the seminar where she gave an informative lecture on the quality standards, requirements, and the audit process for ISO Certification.

Twelve frontline services of the District Port are slated for ISO Certification this year as the bureau  aims to have all these frontline services ISO-Certified before the second semester of the year.

The seminar was part of the bureau’s  initiative to prepare its employees for the Internal Quality Audit to be conducted by the IIQMSO this month. — KQD (FREEMAN)