NOW that President Aquino himself had given Customs chief Ruffy Biazon the blanket authority to carry out total reforms at the Bureau of Customs as shown by his rejection of the latter’s offer of resignation, why don’t we give him the chance to show his mettle and prove to his detractors that they’re wrong?
And Commissioner Biazon must be on the right track as he’s starting with the reform measures, that obviously have nod from Malacañang and his immediate boss Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, by changing the people, well at least, moving them from their old places to new posts.
Reading the commissioner’s mind, he could be sacking those non-performing district and sub-port collectors who have been immensely contributing to the decline in the revenue collections for reason that they’ve been clinging long to their posts that they’re already not doing their jobs as what’s expected from them.
Comm. Biazon is also right in reminding the employees and officials to support reform efforts by the government.
He says: “Twenty months have passed and we exercised so much patience, but everything comes to an end. The President must have already run out of patience, it would be much worse if the people would be the ones losing their patience.”
“This is an opportunity for us to prove to the world, to everyone that we are serious in reforms and it is a call for each and every official and employee of the BOC to make history and be part of the generation that reforms Customs,” he adds.
The Customs chief knows fully well that it’s a mission and a challenge given to him that he must fulfill. He could easily walk away from this and save himself from being tarnished but he believes it’s a job that’s worth fighting for.
It’s true that he didn’t ask for the post but he accepted the offer just the same as he saw the President having the political will and determination to reform Customs.
As part of the major changes and the re-filed Customs Modernization Bill, the full computerization program, which currently faces a snag after it’s questioned before a lower court by a group, which Commissioner Biazon says didn’t have the personality to question
in the first place, must take place.
To this writer, such ambitious project will certainly curb smuggling and corruption at the bureau.
“With computerization, there will be no contact between the importer and customs employees. No paper work. Everything will be by computer. Aside from curbing corruption, transactions in the BoC will be quick. Fixers will be put out of business. And collections will increase,” thus Comm. Biazon says.
In the next two weeks, we’ll know who among the district and sub-port customs collectors would be replaced on the basis of their performance as revenue collectors (40 percent), enforcement against smuggling (30 percent) and feedback from “stakeholders,” presumably the public (30 percent).
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