4 BOC execs quit, retire

MANILA, Philippines - Port of Manila district collector Rogel Gatchalian, tagged as one of the so-called “Three Kings” of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), tendered his irrevocable resignation yesterday while three other collectors availed themselves of optional retirement.

Gatchalian said he sent copies of his resignation letter to Malacañang, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and BOC Commissioner Rufino Biazon.

In his two-page resignation letter, Gatchalian said he decided to resign to give President Aquino a free hand to reorganize the bureau, to prove that he is not clinging to his post and show his sincerity in supporting the President’s reform agenda. Sources said Ninoy Aquino International Airport collector Carlos So, John Tan of Zamboanga and Ronnie Silvestre of Clark, who is president of the BOC collectors’ association, have availed of optional retirement.

Gatchalian entered the BOC in February 2007, when he was hired to head the Run After The Smugglers group that was funded by the United States Agency for International Development. The group filed 95 cases against 485 individuals, 52 of which were prosecuted. He was appointed district collector in October 2009 during which he was able to raise collections from P38.9 billion in 2009 to P53.7 billion in 2010, representing a 38 percent increase. He was awarded top district collector in 2010.

The resignation of the four district collectors came after a Manila court denied their petition for a writ of preliminary injunction to stop their transfer to the Customs Policy Research Office.