JAN.

18, 2014

NR # 3350

DOJ seeks relocation of BOC officials & employees every three years to curb corruption
The Department of Justice has recommended to Congress the relocation of officials and employees of the Bureau of Customs, from the deputy commissioners down to the lowest-ranked employees, every three years continuously until after retirement from the government service to eradicate corruption at the BOC. Justice ecretary !eila de !ima made the recommendation in a letter to "ep. #iro $uim%o &'nd District, #arikina City(, chairman of the )ouse committee on ways and means, after the panel sought the DOJ position on several )ouse %ills seeking to amend or revise the Tariff and Customs Code to further strengthen the law*s anti-smuggling mechanism. +,n order to achieve the primary goal of o%literating corruption at the BOC, the sense of familiarity with one customs location should %e prevented. ,t is, therefore, suggested that the tenure of customs officials in one station %e limited to a term of three years wherein he will %e transferred to another station for another three years, continuously until after his retirement from government service,- said de !ima. De !ima said the proposed organi.ational arrangement should apply to all officials and employees from the deputy commissioners down to the lowest-ranked customs employees. he said the DOJ recommendation is in consideration of the recommendations %y the /orld Customs Organi.ation &/CO( and other international customs organi.ations, in particular, the +regular relocation of staff.+One of the most important legislative measures that the DOJ would like to recommend is with regard to the tenure and assignment of customs officials and employees,- said de !ima. The recommendations of international customs organi.ations, which are geared towards an efficient and effective customs administration focused namely on0 Organi.ation of customs organi.ation1 taff rules1 ,nternal culture1 ,nformation production and investigation1 )uman "esource #anagement1 and "elations with customs %rokers and the %usiness community. The proposals under the )uman "esource #anagement category are0 "elocate regularly the staff1 2dopt an o%3ective recruitment process, immune from interference, %ased on knowledge and standards of personal ethics1 2dopt an o%3ective promotion

process, immune from interference, merit-%ased and 3eopardi.ed %y inappropriate %ehavior1 4rovide professional training to customs officers throughout their careers, including on ethics and integrity issues1 4rovide a remuneration sufficient to afford a decent standard of living, including, in certain circumstances social %enefits such as the health care and housing facilities1 and et up incentive payments. The Committee on /ays and #eans has %een conducting hearings on several %ills seeking to prescri%e the Customs #oderni.ation 2ct and to strengthen the anti- smuggling mechanism of the Tariff and Customs Code of 5678. De !ima said at the outset, the DOJ recogni.es the fact that the country is in need of a new Tariff and Customs !aw that will %e responsive to the demands of modern trade and commerce. +2nd in light of pu%lic clamor over rampant corruption in the BOC, a new tariff and customs law that will address the widespread violation of the former tariff and customs code due to the incoherence and inconsistencies in its provisions should %e a top priority of Congress,- said de !ima. 2mong the pending %ills in Congress are )ouse Bill 9 filed %y "ep. "odolfo Bia.on &!one District, #untinlupa City(1 )B 5: %y "ep. "eynaldo ;mali &' nd District, Oriental #indoro(1 )B 5<< %y "ep. =ric ingson &' nd District, ,locos ur(1 )Bs 5>?8 and >9:? %y "eps. "ufus "odrigue. &'nd District, Cagayan de Oro City( and #a@imo "odrigue. &4artylist, 2B2#,A(1 )B 5?<5 %y "ep. Bavier Jesus "omualdo &!one District, Camiguin(1 and )B 598> %y "ep. =velina =scudero &5st District, orsogon(1 and )B >>>6 %y "ep. "aneo 2%u &'nd District, Batangas(. &>:( rbb