MANILA, Philippines – With corruption so ingrained and as addictive as drugs at the agency, will the new Customs chief be able to solve the bureau’s problem at its roots?
On Wednesday, Isidro Lapeña, a retired general and former chief of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and head of the Davao City Public Safety Command, discussed how he would address greed among employees of the 115-year-old agency.
“The marching order given to me by President Duterte is to address the perennial problems that have beset the BOC for years. My top priority – and it should be clear to everyone- is to do away with the culture of pasalubong and tara. Strictly no-gift-and-no-take policy,” he said in his message during the turn over ceremony at the BOC port district in Manila.
Lapeña made the pronouncement days after Sen. Panfilo Lacson disclosed that resigned Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon allegedly received a P100-million welcome gift when he started his stint at the agency last year.
Also, according to Lacson, corruption at the bureau via the tara system has become systemic, involving top to bottom executives and personnel of the agency.
Tara refers to the huge bribes that importers and brokers regularly give to BOC officials and employees for the easy release of their shipments, which resulted last May in the entry of 604 kilos of shabu via the agency’s express lane.
Earlier, Lacson conservatively placed the number of bribery-laden shipments to 5,000 containers a day or half of BOC officials’ estimate of 10,000 containers that enter the country’s ports daily.
Thus, at P40,000-tara per container, the estimated grease money involved in corrupt BOC transactions is at least P200 million per day or P73 billion a year.
One-strike policy
To “boost internal cleansing”, the new leadership of the BOC would implement a “one-strike” policy against employees found guilty of corruption, according to Lapeña.
He said the policy “shall be supported by intensified counter-intelligence efforts.”
“I intend to give each of you a clean slate, so we can move forward. Just do your work. Prove your worth, and I will back you up. But once I receive reports of your involvement with corrupt practices and such reports are validated: I will not think twice. Pasensiyahan tayo,” the new BOC chief added.
Lapeña likewise appealed to all stakeholders, especially importers, “to support and cooperate with us by adhering only to legitimate procedures.”
“Part of our job is trade facilitation. Do not give us reasons to hold your shipment and I assure you that under my term as Customs Commissioner, we will collect what is legally proper and correct dues. No more “tara”. Do not be duped into becoming instruments that contribute to breeding corruption in the bureau,” he said.
Lapeña also sought support and cooperation from Customs employees.
“To my BOC family, I seek your support and cooperation. Help me do my job. I cannot do it alone. I need everyone to be on board with me.”
“I still believe that many good men and women remain here in the bureau. Do not let the unscrupulous few continue to destroy the name of the BOC. If you are not with me, step aside because I am looking to steamroll major changes across the bureau.”
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