Further strengthening its anti-corruption campaign, the Bureau of Customs (BOC), continues to intensify its management prerogatives against errant employees. As of January to March 2022 alone, 32 show-cause orders were already issued, which led to the dismissal, suspension, relief, and reshuffling of erring BOC personnel.
Within the same timeline, the BOC-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) already conducted 250 personnel investigations which resulted in the filing of one administrative case before the BOC-Legal Service. In addition, the BOC also transmitted six (6) cases to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
In the period, two (2) BOC employees were dismissed, two (2) were suspended, one (1) was reprimanded, 85 were relieved, and nine (9) were reshuffled or transferred to various offices and ports due to irregular and unlawful activities.
Consequently, with the numerous initiatives of the BOC to boost the level of integrity within the organization, evident developments were indeed attained by the agency as verified by the improved ratings from the general public and agency stakeholders through the Awareness, Institutional Trust, and Satisfaction Survey (AITS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics & Research Center (PSRC). In 2021, the Bureau’s trust rating is already at 94% as compared to 30% in 2020.
Moreover, to ensure that all reforms will be actualized, all units and offices under the BOC continues to undertake the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (ISO QMS) Certification. As of March 2022, 12 BOC offices composing of ports, sub-ports, and Customer Care Centers were already certified while the rest are in various stages of the ISO compliance process.
Under the leadership of Commissioner Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, the BOC’s unwavering implementation of its anti-corruption campaign initiatives greatly contributes to the success of the agency in curbing and rectifying corrupt practices throughout the organization. Moving forward, the BOC will continue to boost the level of integrity among its employees as the Bureau transforms itself to becoming a modernized and credible customs administration that is among the world’s best.
