MANILA, Philippines - There are only five Customs policemen in Zamboanga, Sulu and Tawi Tawi, which are now considered the frontline in the government’s fight against smuggling, a Bureau of Customs (BOC) official said yesterday.
“We are undermanned,” said BOC deputy commissioner for enforcement group Ariel Nepomuceno. “There should have been six but one of our customs policemen fell ill.”
Early this month, Customs Commissioner John Sevilla along with Napomuceno and other bureau officials went to Zamboanga and Jolo, Sulu to check on the situation.
Apart from the Zamboanga port, there are 96 private wharves that may be entry points for smuggled goods.
“We want to check the capabilities on the ground enforcement. How much people do we have, what is the level of cooperation and coordination with other government agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Marines,” he said of the visit.
“We need their help because we only have five customs policemen in the entire area,” he said.
But he explained they could not fully rely on the other law enforcement agencies in the area because the latter have their own sets of priorities.
“For the BOC what is important is the anti-smuggling, we are merely asking favors from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP),” he said.
The BOC has been receiving reports of rice, sugar and some grocery items being illegally brought into the country via Zamboanga. Some of these contraband goods came from Malaysia.
“We found out that Zamboanga is being used as a jumping point to other areas such as Cagayan de Oro. That would hurt the businesses in these areas,” he added.
He lamented that the agency is finding difficulty recruiting qualified personnel. He said only 17 applicants passed the aptitude exam in the latest round of recruitment.
He said they would still have to pass the competency test and the interview.
He said the BOC needs at least 10 additional customs policemen in Zamboanga, but they might not be able to deploy all the new recruits to the area because the 16 other major ports in the country might suffer.
“As Commissioner Sevilla had said, the revenue contribution of the major ports is 98 percent and only two percent is in the other ports. If, for example, we would pull out personnel in Manila or Batangas, the performance of these ports might suffer,” he said.
“The real solution to the problem is to really recruit as quickly as possible and deploy them,” Nepomuceno added.