Watching the Senate hearing on the confiscated 650 kilograms of methamphetamine that passed through the Bureau of Customs was a disappointment.
I am afraid that the critics saying that the BOC is a hopeless case may be right. Senator Panfilo Lacson says the daily take of corrupt officials in the bureau is P270 million a day. If this is accurate, then it shows that there is really no need to collect additional taxes from the already overburdened Filipino taxpayer if only the BOC can be more efficient and less corrupt.
There are certain things that the public can draw from the hearing. One is that the 650 kilograms of shabu confiscated was clearly a part of a much bigger shipment. More, in fact, got away. Another is that there is horrendous incompetence in the higher echelon of the BOC and that the syndicate inside the bureau is simply running circles around former Marine Captain Nicanor Faeldon and his bunch of former mutineers who are now at the helm of the bureau.
The shabu caper shows that mounting a coup to overthrow a government is one thing; running a complicated, corrupt agency like the BOC is another. It is also becoming apparent that large amounts of illegal drugs are being funneled through Customs. This cannot be stopped because of deeply rooted corruption in the agency.
That the BOC is in need of drastic reform is clear even to the blind. The problem is how to do it. The President has requested P4.2 billion to hire 3,000 new customs personnel to improve collection in the Bureau of Customs but is this the right move? Would this not just add 3,000 corrupt individuals to an already corrupt system? Maybe the better solution is simply to implement existing regulations that are not being implemented by corrupt BOC officials. One is using the installed X-ray machines to examine every single container van instead of the color-coding scheme presently in use. This way, there are no exceptions.
When it comes to cargo, many decisions are in the hands of BOC officials—the source of the corruption. Remove this and corruption drastically goes down. The only problem is getting that someone who can control his greed and think of the country instead of himself first. Should Captain Faeldon be replaced? President Duterte should draw his own conclusions. Yes, he said that he believed in the integrity of Captain Faeldon. But clearly, we need someone in the BOC who can maximize revenue collection especially when the agency is the second-highest revenue collecting agency for the government.
Captain Faeldon is proving that the job is way beyond his training and experience. If indeed he was one of the first to encourage the President to run for office, he can perhaps be repaid with another position more in keeping with his training and experience.
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In law, there is such a thing as cruel and unusual punishment. This basically means that any punishment imposed must be commensurate to the offense. The penalty of P100 thousand fine and impounding of vehicles imposed by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to Uber and Grab operators is clearly excessive.
The reason Uber and Grab operators have flourished is because of the failure of taxi operations in the metropolitan area. There has been so much complain about arrogant taxi drivers who select the passengers they want to take. Taxi cabs are also often dirty. The way that the taxi operations have been managed over the years is one of continuous deterioration of the quality of service.
Uber and Grab, on the other hand, can simply be contacted by smart phones using an app. One can go anyplace one wants in a clean and comfortable vehicle. Also, there is the safety factor that at least the owner or driver of the Uber and Grab vehicle can easily be traced if there is a problem.
The LTFRB is simply too slow to get into this new form of public transport. We know of course that the LTFRB is archaic—but why punish the riding public who wants a more efficient system? Even if the agency has quasi-judicial powers, I am not too sure whether it can impose a P100 thousand fine and impound the vehicle in what is essentially a moving traffic violation.
If the numbers being mentioned of about 100,000 Uber and Grab vehicles operating is right, one can imagine the economic cost of the one-month suspension of their operations. As I wrote in a separate column before, the Public Service Law was enacted in 1936 during the Commonwealth period. It was perhaps all right then for prospective public transport operators to simply go to the Public Service Commission as it was called then to request a provisional permit for jeepney or taxi operation. The PSC, composed mostly of lawyers, will then decide whether a permit can be issued. This system is now obviously obsolete especially in highly urbanized Metropolitan areas like the National Capital Region with 12.5 million people. There is a need for a more technical and scientific system to regulate public transport. Congress should take the lead to overhaul our unresponsive system to make it more suited to the fast-changing times. But even Congress it seems is also too slow. So, while Congress and the LTFRB vacillate, the riding public will continue to suffer.