The Bureau of Customs, according to President Rodrigo Duterte, is one of the three most corrupt agencies in government along with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Land Transportation Office.
We don’t need the President to tell us that. For decades the public has known that the bureau suffers from a systemic weakness that corrupts its own people at worst and frustrates, at least, most other well-meaning individuals who come to work for it, desire to change it, or even enlighten the men and women in it.
Adding to the bureau’s ill repute is its inability to achieve its mandate for the government—to provide much-needed revenues that would in turn fill up the national coffers. In April this year, for instance, there was a collection deficit of P8.47 billion.
The target was P40.92 billion but the bureau only managed to collect P32.45 billion in import duties and taxes. In May, the shortfall was P8.83 billion.
Former Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina is just the most recent of bureau chiefs who came and left without meeting the targets. Upon his appointment—reappointment, really, because he has held the post in 2005—Lina had to fend off accusations of conflict of interest. The deficits do not help bolster his case that he was the right man for the job.
Meanwhile, Mr. Duterte has placed former Marine officer Nicanor Faeldon at the helm of the bureau, in an attempt to introduce real changes. Whether or not he can deliver as expected is not yet known. What is certain is that changing how things are done at Customs is a daunting task and it takes extraordinary will to introduce reforms that make a difference, and stay. The resistance, we imagine, could be staggering—so staggering that increasing collections and meeting targets would be easier to achieve.
There is a lot of work to be done at the bureau, and boosting performance in terms of collection is just one of them. Breaking the decades-old notoriety, which is in fact the root of the underperformance, is a lot more daunting. Faeldon needs a vigilant public to make the dent he needs to make.