Some lawmakers on Saturday expressed misgiving on assigning soldiers to the Bureau of Customs.
In separate interviews with the Manila Standard, Reps. Tom Villarin of Akbayan, Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur and Gary Alejano of Magdalo said if the plan pushes through, the soldiers will be infected by the deeply-rooted corruption in the bureau.
But Reps. Gus Tambunting of Parañaque and Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte said they see nothing wrong with the deployment of soldiers for Customs-related work.
Earlier, Customs Commissioner Rey Guerrero announced that 150 “standby” soldiers are ready for assignment to the bureau.
“It should be legal if the purpose is to assist the BOC in the government’s campaign against corruption and illegal drugs which pose serious threats to the security of the State,” Tambunting, chairman of the House committee on games and amusements, said.
Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said the idea is “okay as long as [soldiers] undergo training to do such work.” “It is okay to hand pick your staff that you want to bring to the bureau as long as they enjoy your trust and confidence,” he added.
Villarin, a member of House’s Makabayan Bloc, said the idea of Guerrero to use active soldiers to do customs work “is one of misplaced priorities, and a smokescreen to the inconvenient truth that corruption is deeply embedded in the institution.”
“General Guerrero is no longer with the military and is [now] working in a civilian agency tasked in revenue generation. His deployment of soldiers is juvenile thinking and scrapes the surface of an institutional problem. It’s unconstitutionality is manifestly evident and the order legally infirm,” Villarin said.
The Constitution prohibits the assignment of soldiers and policemen to civilian government offices but Malacañang lawyers said the troops will merely be “seconded” to the bureau. They did not explain the difference between assigment and “secondment.”
Pimentel, a deputy majority leader, shared a similar view.
“I don’t think that is a good idea because the work of a Customs employee is totally different from that of a soldier,” Pimentel said.
He added that “the soldiers does not have the proper knowledge on how to appraise the value of imported good; much more in the computation of Customs duties. What will happen to our collection of Customs duties if we put personnel who are not knowlegeable on these matters.”
Alejano, another oppositionist, said Guerrero’ announcement that there will be 150 “standby” soldiers prepared to do customs-related work “is a violation of the Constitution.”
“Doing Customs-related work is not the job of a soldier. That is not the mandate of the Armed Forces,” Alejano, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1995, said.
While the competence and discipline of the soldiers are admirable, Alejano said “we should not take them away from their constitutionally-mandated function which is territorial defense.”
“Our military has limited forces. It is being overstretched by additional burden that are beyond their official functions and the training that they received,” Alejano, a resigned Marine officer, said.
Meanwhile, Villarin said the bureau needs a total overhaul through major amendments of the Customs and Tariff Code.
This way, Villarin said the government will be able to “institute transparency and accountability, systems change and instill oversight by independent and credible bodies.”
Alejano said that instead of using the military in a “show of force” in cleaning up the BOC, the agency should focus on addressing the root causes of the problems it has been facing for decades now.
“There should be clear assessment of the problems first to forward appropriate long-term solutions. Introduce effective reform policies and programs in the BOC,” Alejano said.
“Let us not use the military as deodorizer to the stinky illegal transactions in BOC. Hangga’t nagbubulag-bulagan ang mga scanners sa Customs, meron at merong lulusot na ilegal dyan,” Alejano said.
A former congressman recalled that during the early days of the Diosdado Macapagal presidency, then Customs Commissioner Cesar Climaco requested for the assignment of PMA cadets to rid the bureau of corruption.
After a few months, Climaco went to Macapagal to beg for the return of the cadets to the military academy in Baguio saying, “they are corrupting the cadets.”
By then, Climaco was referring to Customs old timers, brokers, fixers, hangers on and all others who are able to enter the Customs premises.
The former legislator said that many members of the PMA class that were assigned to the bureau did not have good service reputation, proving that they were indeed corrupted at Customs.