Biazon Begins BOC Streamlining

The Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) transacting public could be seeing a more professional and more efficient BOC in the coming months as BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon’s reform programs for the Bureau starts to be implemented.

Anchored on the Commissioner’s reform agenda of change and closing loopholes among others, Biazon recently issued a memorandum that will begin the streamlining process of the bureau’s personnel organization, eliminate redundancies, and most importantly, rid the Bureau of non-organic personnel, who for so many years have been performing functions supposedly assigned only to BOC organic personnel.

As part of Biazon’s reform agenda, a personnel count will be undertaken including those hired under contractual arrangements. The current assignments of BOC personnel will also be reviewed, especially those detailed to units other than their mother units.

“We can only implement real reforms in the bureau if we start by cleaning our own backyard.” Biazon said, adding that, “So long as there are people who are not accountable for their deeds in the Bureau and yet are allowed access to vital government information and documents, the BOC will always be placed in a perilous situation.”

“We have to establish the responsibilities and accountabilities of all BOC personnel to avoid confusion which is being exploited by smugglers,” the Commissioner stressed.

The common practice at the BOC of detailing BOC personnel to offices other than their mother units without the required Customs Personnel Order (CPO), the redundancy of functions and even the crossing of jurisdictional boundaries is creating a big problem for the BOC.

In his inaugural speech upon assumption as the new BOC Chief last month, Biazon stressed that to succeed in the campaign against smuggling and to meet the government’s revenue targets, reforms must be introduced into the BOC system.

“Our vision of a truly reformed BOC may still be a long way ahead, but we can start that tedious trip towards the “Matuwid na Daan” type of governance in our own backyard today,” Biazon said. Public Information & Assistance Division (PIAD), Bureau of Customs