Cebu customs to get new head

CEBU, Philippines - Despite his good collection performance, Cebu customs district collector Ricardo Belmonte was relieved from his post effective immediately.

Belmonte received the relief order last Thursday reassigning him to the Office of the Commissioner in Manila in a floating status. A report from Manila however said that Belmonte will eventually take the post of outgoing Port of Manila district collector Rogel Gatchalian.

Davao district collector Ronnie Silvestre will take Belmonte’s post in Cebu while Anju Nereo Castigador was designated as officer-in-charge in Davao. Belmonte is said to have already made arrangement with Silvestre to schedule the turnover ceremony.

The minor revamp in the Bureau of Customs that affected only Cebu and Davao was covered with a Customs Personnel Order issued by Commissioner Napoleon Morales and approved by Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.

The revamp is believed to be politically motivated because Belmonte’s elder brother and Quezon City Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte has shifted his political alliance from the administration to the Liberal Party.

It also came as a surprise to many because it is not clear whether the transfer was a promotion or a demotion for Belmonte given his positive collection performance in the recent months and even years.

As of December 8, 2009, the BOC-Cebu, under the leadership of Belmonte, has already surpassed its annual collection target by 6.9 percent.

Florante Ricarte, assistant chief for assessment, said that they already have a total collection of P6,057 billion as against its P5.663 billion annual target.

Ricarte said they have consistently posted positive deviations in their targets since 2007. In fact, the records show that this year’s collection is 14.39 percent higher compared to that in 2008. Last year’s collection was also 5.95 percent higher than the 2007 collection. — Fred P. Languido/WAB (THE FREEMAN)