Escudero callsfor Customs revamp, but thieves must be prosecuted

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  â€” The Bureau of Customs must be revamped, but those insiders who were responsible for smuggling must be sued and charged in court.

This was the declaration of reelectionist Senator Chiz Escudero during his visit to this city recently. "Assuming not all employees of the BOC are thieves, government should weed out all the thieves in that agency," he said.

Escudero said he wondered how four billion liters of imported oil were able to pass through the ports and the gates of the BOC. Records of the Department of Energy (DOE) showed 16 billion liters of oil were consumed every year but BOC records showed only 12 billion liters a year entering the country.

Four billion liters of oil can be placed in more than five baskertball courts, and yet, the BOC did not notice this, said Escudero who lamented that "nefarious activities" pass through the ports and the gates of a government facility.

One of the solutions that Escudero had offered to address the problem was to replace BOC personnel's uniform without pockets in the front and back, have glass tables with no drawers and identify areas of discretion.

Escudero said: "Discretion is equal to corruption. Mminimize discretion and you eliminate corruption; eliminate discretion and you eliminate corruption."

He also called for the installation of CCTV cameras in all revenue-generating agencies and will consider it a criminal offense if the equipment is not maintained or in good running condition.

Specific products will have a specific port for easy detection in case of smuggling, he said, adding that unconfirmed reports  showed that the ports of Cebu and Batangas have been deemed alternate sites for smugglers.

Meanwhile, Escudero disclosed that Rep. George Arnaiz (1st district, Negros Oriental) had his House Bill 2123 passed the 2nd reading at the Senate but failed to beat the Congress adjournment that could have make it to the 3rd reading.

The Arnaiz bill, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992, would allow LGUs with protected areas to have automatic retention of their 75 percent share of revenues.

Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, however said he was confident that, by the session's resumption in June, the bill will be ratified despite a different version from the Lower House.

This could be passed into law if President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will sign it, said the reelectionist senator. "We believe in the law that is why we passed it, but nobody can guarantee the president will sign it, he said.

Currently, the law mandates that despite a 75-25 percent sharing between the national government and the LGUs, all revenues from the different protected areas in the country go directly to the national coffers and the LGUs can only get their shares after submitting a proposed plan of expenditures and projects.

One of the noted protected areas in Negros Oriental is the internationally renowned dive destination, Apo Island, whose PAMB has been clamoring for years to have the law modified.  (FREEMAN)