BOC bares vacancy for 2,823 positions

MANILA, Philippines - Amid an ongoing reorganization, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has received the go-signal from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to hire more than 2,000 personnel for its central office, ports and collection districts.

More Customs personnel are being hired as part of the reforms in the bureau aimed at raising its efficiency, the DBM said yesterday.

“Considering that the ongoing revamp in the Bureau of Customs is in full swing, we gave the Customs bureau the proper authority to fill several key positions that would support the efficient and improved collection of customs duties, taxes, fees and penalties,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday.

“As we remain committed to giving our international airports a much-needed facelift, we also recognize the need to hire additional customs personnel to ensure the smooth operations of the bureau and improve its collection services,” Abad said.

In a statement, the DBM said the 2,823 positions include customs collectors, special investigators, police and intelligence officers, accountants, computer maintenance staff, computer programmers, information technology officers, statisticians and lawyers.

Abad said the hiring of new employees is in line with the Aquino administration’s efforts to reform the customs bureau, shore up revenue collection and further enhance the country’s global economic competitiveness.

The hiring of new personnel coincides with the rehabilitation of existing international airports and the development of new ones as a way to boost tourism in the country.

“More important, however, is the reform component in supporting the BOC’s staffing requirements. By filling vacancies and finding the right talent to fill some very important positions in Customs, the bureau can bring greater momentum to their efforts at reforming itself,” he said.

Abad said the country’s growing investments in infrastructure as well as efforts to advance economic expansion are pursuant to the government’s goals of achieving sustained, inclusive growth and creating more development opportunities in the country.

“As part of our economic development plan, we are steadfast in heeding the call of the people for more job opportunities and sustainable livelihood,” Abad said.

The DBM’s approval – given in December 2013 – was in response to the BOC’s request. The DBM’s approval was on the condition that the bureau would only tap funds under Personnel Services (PS) for the new hires to avoid new budgetary release.

Fiction for cover-up

Despite its house cleaning efforts, the BOC – along with other agencies – should give the real score on Dante Tan amid suspicion that he is just a work of fiction created by the government to cover up alleged anomalies in rice import transactions with Vietnam.

This was according to lawyer Argee Guevarra, who earlier exposed the alleged anomaly in the National Food Authority’s rice importation.

 Guevarra said the effort to run after Tan may have been just a smokescreen and part of a grand design to divert the public’s attention from rice smuggling involving officials.

He said the issue on Tan – who reportedly financed the rice smuggling cartel in the country by paying as much as P6 billion in kickbacks to Customs officials and employees – is being used to divert attention from the plunder charges he filed last month against Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and NFA administrator Orlan Calayag.

“The witch hunt for a certain David Tan is obviously part of a grand plot to instill fear among legitimate rice traders who can be accused of being Tan himself. Anyone can be David Tan because he is not a person but a fictional character created to ensure Alcala et al’s absolute control of the industry,” he told reporters yesterday. – With Edu Punay, Edith Regalado