Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña removed two major port district collectors and 64 other customs personnel for failing to meet their assigned revenue collection target for the month of March, as part of the major reshuffle of the organization.
In a statement, Lapeña said that Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III signed 66 personnel orders, including the district collectors of the ports who failed to meet their March revenue target.
Removed from their posts were Port of Manila district collector Vener Baquiran who was replaced by Erastus Sandino Austria, former district collector of Port of Davao while Manila International Container Port collector lawyer Balmyrson M. Valdez was replaced by former Port of Clark district collector Maritess Martin.
Baquiran has been transferred to the Compliance Monitoring Unit.
Export Coordination Division chief lawyer Romalino G. Valdez of the Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group will fill in the vacated position of Austria as district collector of Port of Davao.
Martin was replaced by lawyer Lilibeth S. Sandag of Revenue Collection Monitoring Group to head the Port of Clark.
Aside from Austria and Martin, Wivina B. Pumatong of sub-port of Mactan assumed her new post as the district collector of Port of Iloilo.
“I have given Austria and Martin bigger responsibilities to head the major ports since they are consistently hitting their targets with huge surpluses since I assumed as commissioner,” Customs chief Isidro Lapena said.
The two major ports, POM and MICP, had collected only P5.776 billion and P12.625 billion which is 14.9 percent and 9.28 percent lower than the target, respectively.
Lapeña also clarified that the district collectors of Port of Zamboanga and Ninoy Aquino International Airport will not be affected by this recent reshuffling since they assumed office only by mid-March.
“Their revenue performance in April will determine whether they will stay in their position as district collector,” Lapeña added. With PNA