Guerrero says “no militarization” in BOC

October 31, 2018

New Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said there will be "no militarization" of the agency.

Guerrero officially assumed office as the new BOC chief after Isidro Lapeña turned over the post to him in a ceremony on Wednesday.

"Let us correct any impression that there will be militarization...As I've explained, the directive of the President (Rodrigo Duterte) to have military people, personnel from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to assist the Customs is not a militarization process but clearly, the officers of the Bureau of Customs will still be in control of the operations and activities of the bureau," he told the media.

But Guerrero could not give details on what would be the military's role at the BOC.

He said he would still meet with Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, whose department has supervision over the BOC.

The former chief of the Maritime Industry Authority said he has to assess everything and he needs to be "on top of the situation" so that he would be aware of what has been happening at the agency.

Duterte transferred Lapeña to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority amid the controversy hounding the BOC where P11-billion worth of illegal drugs allegedly slipped past the agency last August.

With his appointment to Guerrero at the BOC, Duterte also ordered the military takeover due to alleged massive corruption in the agency.

Guerrero said that whatever changes to be made in the BOC would be lawful.

"Clearly the President said that he has not given an illegal order so when he gives us instructions, it is understood that we are mandated to operationalize his instructions within the bounds of law," he said.

During his speech at the turnover ceremony, Guerrero vowed to cleanse the agency of corruption.

He said that officials and employees of Customs must be "honest and upright."

Lapeña, for his part, cited the BOC's accomplishments during his 14 months of stint at the BOC.

He said from January to October 29, the BOC collection hit P481.72 billion, 82.9 percent of the total collection target for 2018.

He noted that from February to September, the BOC has been exceeding the collection target.

Lapeña expressed hope that Guerrero would fulfill his promise to the BOC employees that once the agency exceeds its collection target for this year by P20 billion, 15 percent or P3 billion of it would be divided equally among 3,000 personnel or about P1 million each.

Under his watch, he said P3.06-billion worth of illegal drugs were confiscated.

"I believe I have done what I needed to do (at the BOC)," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS