Biazon says smuggling not that bad

Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon sent me a tweet with a link to his website that reacts to the claim of Bobi Tiglao about how bad smuggling has become under P-Noy’s watch. In so many words, Biazon said it is not that bad and that Tiglao’s analysis of IMF Direction of Trade Data is simplistic and misleading. Tiglao, Biazon said, is also inconsistent in his use of the IMF data.

Biazon also suggested explanations on why the trade data of China and the Philippines as cited by the IMF may not be consistent with each other. Biazon also blames the Customs law, promulgated in 1957,  whose “updating is long overdue.” He hopes the current Congress will act soon.

He also pointed out that they are actively going after smugglers, proven by the “106 cases of smuggling filed under the Aquino Administration, filed every other week with a total value of P52 billion, as well as the reform measures being undertaken particularly the move to modernize and automate the processes in Customs.”

Biazon also blames the private business sector for corruption in the Customs bureau. “Smuggling happens because there is connivance between corrupt government officials and corrupt businessmen. This connivance occurs because the operating environment allows it, with human intervention and abuse of discretion being the principal tools.

“The direction of the current BOC administration is to remove such opportunities of human intervention and abuse of discretion by automating the processes where it can, enhancing not only the integrity of such processes but also their efficiency.”

Biazon’s reply is fairly long and often repetitive. Since I do not have enough space to carry the entire blog, here is the link: http://www.ruffybiazon.ph/?p=1815 for those who want to read it in full. In the meantime, here are some of the more interesting excerpts from Biazon’s blog:

“The statement that ‘Smuggling is at its Worst Under Aquino’ is Mr. Tiglao’s own conclusion, based on what appears to be inaccurate or inconsistent information…

“… what may be reported by China as an export to the Philippines may not be reported by the Philippines as an import if it is meant for the freeport zones and economic zones which utilize imported products in the production of goods which do not enter the domestic market for local consumption. Transhipments are likewise sometimes reported as exports to the transition country instead of the ultimate destination.

“Even the Export Tax Rebate program may be a factor in the difference between the reports of China exports versus reports of Philippine imports. In China, exporters are practically subsidized by being given tax refunds on their exports. Higher export values mean higher tax rebates.

“Therefore, it is not conclusive to do a simple subtraction of numbers reported by the exporting country and the numbers reported by the importing country.”

Biazon also contested the accuracy of Tiglao’s numbers, expressing “doubt on the basis of Mr. Tiglao’s claims of a revenue loss of P327B in Pres. Aquino’s first two years in office or P163.5 B annually. Even the government’s stretched targets did not forecast such a high revenue collection…

“The ironic thing is that he even cited cases of smuggling from Indonesia and India, which were intercepted due to the timely action by BOC itself. Left out from his article were the back to back seizures of smuggled rice not only from India but from Vietnam as well…

“Customs administration is also operating under an antiquated legal framework, the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP), a law which was passed in 1957. It has lived past its timeliness, and its updating is long overdue as well. As of this time, the BOC is still lobbying for its passage, hopefully before the 15th Congress ends its term. Its passage will help Philippine Customs be compliant to the Revised Kyoto Convention and elevate us to the standing of the more modern and efficient customs administrations around the world.

“Reform of the BOC under the Aquino Administration is not limited to the traditional mindset of those who are usually interested in customs matters. To those, reform simply means more apprehensions and more revenues. But to those who truly know the inside and out of customs administration, reforming the Customs goes beyond those two goals.

“Many administrations have come and gone, but it seems that Customs has always remained the same, content with the occasional triumphs of interceptions of smuggled goods or increased revenues but not really achieving modernization and reform in the system.

“It is the goal of the BOC that under the Aquino Administration, it will become a truly modernized Customs in its operations, its legal framework and its orientation…”

I am just wondering why Biazon said nothing about oil smuggling. Maybe that is still work in progress, if at all.

CAAP

The airline pilot who complained about red tape in CAAP has written again to report that he has had a conversation with the CAAP official he denounced in an e-mail he sent me. Here is his follow up e-mail edited to fit my space.

Greetings! This has reference to my email to you which was published in your column “Demand and Supply” dated November 16, 2012 entitled “CAAP Corruption Kills.” Thank you for airing the grievances of an ordinary citizen in dealing with the government. Salamat po ulit.

A lot of things have happened since the publication of that email and I felt the need to email you again to clarify and straighten out some things (but not the series of events that I narrated in the said email, which are my first-hand experience).

The public official I specifically mentioned in my previous email, Captain Badiola, called me to his office at CAAP yesterday (November 19) and we had a very pleasant conversation about the incident I complained about and my email in general. He was very fatherly to me and he explained thoroughly to me that these current delays in the issuance of check ride permits (CRP) and licenses are being done in the name of reforms within the CAAP.

He showed me some current documents pending on his table that have some spurious and suspicious entries. He explained that he is simply ensuring that all necessary papers, entries and signatures are correct before he himself signs them prior to the issuance of the CRP.

He said that as time goes by, the country’s aviation industry will learn to adjust and adapt to these reforms in the system. He said as of now we are still used to the old system that is prone to manipulations as he demonstrated to me.

I was clarified on the matter and, as an advocate of good governance thru well studied reforms, I agree with Captain Badiola. In the course of our conversation, he even apologized to me for not being there when I was following-up my own CRP due to more compelling reasons as he explained to me, which I fully understand. I found that act of a senior pilot to be very gentlemanly.

I also apologized to him personally for the pain caused by my previous email. I told him I was not accusing him of corruption; it was just probably due to my very frustrating experience with the CAAP on those days. But if there were any notion that I was accusing him of that, I am retracting that portion of my previous email.

I am hoping that Captain Badiola will be successful in his crusade in reforming the aviation industry of this country. I also hope that they hasten the processes. Probably this would contribute to our country’s upgrading to Category I rating by international aviation agencies.

In closing, I don’t want to hide under the cloak of anonymity (my identity was not included in the previous email although my company and the CAAP knew that I wrote the said letter); so I would like to introduce myself to the rest of your readers, I am Alex Anicete and I am ready to face the consequences of all my actions.

Again, Sir Boo, maraming salamat po for giving me, an ordinary citizen, an instrument to express my view on relevant issues of the day. More power to you and The Philippine Star.

Bureaucrats

Two bureaucrats are walking along a corridor when one of them turns around and steps on a snail.

“Why’d you kill him for?” asks one.

“He’s been following us for the last 20 minutes!”

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco