How to stop corruption in the Bureau of Customs

[iNeedMoney]

---

How to stop corruption in the Bureau of Customs
by Kathleen A. Martin, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 05/23/2013 11:56 AM | Updated as of 05/23/2013 12:08 PM

by Kathleen A. Martin, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 05/23/2013 11:56 AM | Updated as of 05/23/2013 12:08 PM
MANILA -- Corruption can be eliminated in the Bureau of Customs (BOC), reducing smuggling in the process, former government officials said.
"I don't think it's difficult to change Customs if you have the correct mechanism. They say that if you have the right structure, things would follow," Ernesto Ordoñez, chairman of non-governmental organization Alyansa Agrikultura, told ANC's Inside Business with Coco Alcuaz.
The former undersecretary of the departments of Agriculture and Trade and Industry noted the BOC used to report to a task force that oversees the bureau's actions.
"In 2005, the smuggling went down to 6% from 8% in 2004. Now it's running at 30%. What happened is that Customs then was forced to report to a group," he recounted.
"There was a group composed of Cabinet secretaries from Agriculture, Trade and Industry, and of course, from Finance, watching Customs," Ordoñez continued.
The numbers Ordoñez presented were crunched from the Philippines' data on imports versus other countries' data on their exports. The difference between the two shows which shipments to the Philippines did not go through Customs or those which were not officially reported.
At the same time, Ordoñez said the BOC should coordinate with other government agencies and the private sector in its fight against smuggling.
"They need the private sector to identify the routes [taken by smugglers]," he said.
"The commissioner also needs help from other departments like Agriculture and Trade and Industry because right now, I think that he's all alone," he continued.
Guillermo Parayno, Jr., president of BOC's IT provider E-Konek Pilipinas Inc., said there should be stronger implementation of measures if the BOC wants to reduce or erase correuption in its ranks and smuggling in the country.
"I think we need to put in better implementors. I think the Customs heads then and now know what measures should be taken to address these problems but the question is in the implementation," Parayno, former commissioner of the bureaus of customs and internal revenue, said.
"You've got to have people who are maybe even suicidal to really implement this no-nonsense and make it work," he added.
Parayno said he believes the bureau, despite being always tagged as one of the most corrupt government agencies, can improve itself and bring down corruption.
"It can be minimized, it can be improved. Maybe smuggling and other forms of corruptions may not be completely weeded out but definitely it can be brought to a very manageable level," he said.
Last month, there had been calls from various groups for BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon to resign amid an alleged rampant smuggling in the country. Abono party-list even alleged the Philippines has become the “smuggling capital of Asia".

Source: How to stop corruption in the Bureau of Customs | ABS-CBN News

[vipvip68]

it needs to be privatized like a non-profit organization and automated to the point where all transactions are handled and viewable online and wala nay pirma pirma or sturya sturya pa. dapat ma simplify and transparent ang whole process

[monroy]

How to stop corruption in the Bureau of Customs
by Kathleen A. Martin, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 05/23/2013 11:56 AM | Updated as of 05/23/2013 12:08 PM

by Kathleen A. Martin, ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 05/23/2013 11:56 AM | Updated as of 05/23/2013 12:08 PM
MANILA -- Corruption can be eliminated in the Bureau of Customs (BOC), reducing smuggling in the process, former government officials said.
"I don't think it's difficult to change Customs if you have the correct mechanism. They say that if you have the right structure, things would follow," Ernesto Ordoñez, chairman of non-governmental organization Alyansa Agrikultura, told ANC's Inside Business with Coco Alcuaz.
The former undersecretary of the departments of Agriculture and Trade and Industry noted the BOC used to report to a task force that oversees the bureau's actions.
"In 2005, the smuggling went down to 6% from 8% in 2004. Now it's running at 30%. What happened is that Customs then was forced to report to a group," he recounted.
"There was a group composed of Cabinet secretaries from Agriculture, Trade and Industry, and of course, from Finance, watching Customs," Ordoñez continued.
The numbers Ordoñez presented were crunched from the Philippines' data on imports versus other countries' data on their exports. The difference between the two shows which shipments to the Philippines did not go through Customs or those which were not officially reported.
At the same time, Ordoñez said the BOC should coordinate with other government agencies and the private sector in its fight against smuggling.
"They need the private sector to identify the routes [taken by smugglers]," he said.
"The commissioner also needs help from other departments like Agriculture and Trade and Industry because right now, I think that he's all alone," he continued.
Guillermo Parayno, Jr., president of BOC's IT provider E-Konek Pilipinas Inc., said there should be stronger implementation of measures if the BOC wants to reduce or erase correuption in its ranks and smuggling in the country.
"I think we need to put in better implementors. I think the Customs heads then and now know what measures should be taken to address these problems but the question is in the implementation," Parayno, former commissioner of the bureaus of customs and internal revenue, said.
"You've got to have people who are maybe even suicidal to really implement this no-nonsense and make it work," he added.
Parayno said he believes the bureau, despite being always tagged as one of the most corrupt government agencies, can improve itself and bring down corruption.
"It can be minimized, it can be improved. Maybe smuggling and other forms of corruptions may not be completely weeded out but definitely it can be brought to a very manageable level," he said.
Last month, there had been calls from various groups for BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon to resign amid an alleged rampant smuggling in the country. Abono party-list even alleged the Philippines has become the “smuggling capital of Asia".

Source: How to stop corruption in the Bureau of Customs | ABS-CBN News

There'll be no need for smuggling if the import duties weren't so high and oppressive. Why a 125% tariff on car imports, for example? It's completely ridiculous how expensive import duties are in this country.

[<SMILE>]

Stringent monitoring
simplify the transactions for ease of monitoring,
and fluid flow of incoming and outgoing shipments.
employ an independent watch committee commissioned
by the three bodies of the government.

[supermarionism]

Lisud na ni mapug-ngan kay daghan na kaayu ug mga crocs sa pinas..

[darksouls]

sa dugay nko cge basa balaod sa phils. sakto man tanan okey kaayo ang defect sa kai tao ra jd a2 na jd culture nato pag ka corrupt sukad pa sa kastila

[000.bulldozer.000]

it needs to be privatized like a non-profit organization and automated to the point where all transactions are handled and viewable online and wala nay pirma pirma or sturya sturya pa. dapat ma simplify and transparent ang whole process

Nindot ni.

[emow]

I really believed BOC is better abolished. I really don't see smuggling as a crime, in fact, i think many people benefit from smuggling. What is smuggling after all, isn't it just goods delivered from other countries without passing through BOC as a middleman? The existence of BoC forces other importers to bribe the officials to facilitate the release of their goods without delay, afterall time is money. When something not a problem is viewed as a problem, no solution can ever solve that problem.

[mAlD|tO]

tangtangon ang importation tax aron wala nay pangwartahan ang taga custom

[vipvip68]

I really believed BOC is better abolished. I really don't see smuggling as a crime, in fact, i think many people benefit from smuggling. What is smuggling after all, isn't it just goods delivered from other countries without passing through BOC as a middleman? The existence of BoC forces other importers to bribe the officials to facilitate the release of their goods without delay, afterall time is money. When something not a problem is viewed as a problem, no solution can ever solve that problem.

BoC in theory is supposed to protect our local industries and businesses while being a source of income for the government but it has become more of a hindrance and source of corruption more than anything else.