Former Customs chief pushes pre-shipment inspection scheme

MANILA, Philippines - A former Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief believes an efficient and graft-free BOC is doable if government revives the pre-shipment inspection of imports from the country of origin and secondly, to modify the Selectivity Scheme (SS) that exempts imports of accredited reputable importers from rigid Customs procedures.

Former Customs Commissioner Titus Villanueva said the two programs can be the long term solution to minimize graft and corruption in the bureau, a topic seriously discussed in his biography entitled “From the Ranks.”

A civil story group called Penpower for Democracy and Good Governance (PDGG) has endorsed Villanueva’s reform BOC advocacy even as they welcome the reduction to four days the processing of release of import cargoes. However the PDGG echoes what the importers have been saying all the time: the bureaucratic red tape remains long and strong.

PDGG spokesperson C. Morallos said Villanueva knows whereof he speaks. Villanueva served the BOC for 41 years. He was the only Customs commissioner appointed from the rank-and-file, serving three administrations consecutively as deputy customs commissioner. He chaired the 2001 ASEAN Commissioners of Customs Meeting and the 1996 APEC Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures in 1996.

Under the modified SS program on the basis of their proven track record of honesty, integrity and above-board trade practices.

It is estimated that at least 80 percent of Philippine imports fall under the SS program and are eligible for the green lane pass. However, Customs official may conduct on the spot irregularities.

All SS accredited importers are encouraged to police their ranks to maintain their positive status to enjoy the special privileges of the program.

Current practice however still requires cargoes of legitimate accredited importers with green lane pass to undergo the normal Customs procedures. This practice, according to Villanueva, should be removed as it gives corrupt BOC personnel opportunities to hold or delay shipments for real or imagined reasons in order to extract “facilitation” or bribe money.

To complement the SS, the pre-shipment inspection of goods from the country of origin to determine the correct valuation and classification of imported goods by an independent entity has to be revived under the CISS program.

The CISS program will apply only to those imports of firms with questionable track record which is estimated to be more or less 20 percent of Philippine imports. In the past, the CISS program was conducted successfully for 13 years (1986-2000) by the Swiss firm Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS). It was terminated prematurely in 2002 when some politicians lobbied for its termination on the pretext that the program was costly as it covered all importations.

The reason for the limited coverage was to remove cause why CISS was prematurely terminated. The presence of the SGS then as the pre-shipment inspection team practically eliminated graft and corruption at the BOC but was preterminated under the guise of high maintenance costs.